Amanda Schull
Jody Sawyer
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May 12, 2000 · A group of teenagers from various backgrounds enroll at the American Ballet Academy in New York to make it as ballet dancers. IMDb provides cast and crew information, user and critic reviews, trivia, goofs, quotes, soundtracks, and more for this PG-13 rated movie.
- (23K)
- Drama, Music, Romance
- Nicholas Hytner
- 2000-05-12
May 12, 2020 · You'll need to deliver the goods at CENTER STAGE. Jonathan Reeves (Peter Gallagher, American Beauty), the ballet company's owner is evaluating this young tight-knit group of students as they...
- 2 min
- 193.6K
- Sony Pictures Entertainment
- Amanda Schull Had A Lot in Common with Her Center Stage character.
- The Motorcycle Was Added After Ethan Stiefel Was Cast in Center Stage.
- Sascha Radetsky Originally Auditioned For The Role of Sergei in Center Stage.
- Center Stage Marked Zoë Saldana’s Film Debut.
- The Center Stage Cast Members Were A Close-Knit Bunch Both On- and offscreen.
- The Boat Scene in Center Stage Wasn’T Fun For everyone.
- Cooper and Jody’s Love Scene in Center Stage Was Very Hot—Literally.
- Center Stage Did Have Some Dance Doubles, But Not many.
- Center Stage's Ovation-Worthy Final Performance Was Filmed with No audience.
- The Center Stage Costumes Posed Their Own Challenges.
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Schull’s story of being cast as Jody Sawyer is loosely reminiscent of Jody’s own storyline in the film, and the similarities don’t end there. Schull says the casting director had glimpsed her getting some of the same corrections as Jody does and Schull, like Jody, doesn’t have great feet (in other words, her feet don’t have very high, curved arches...
Ethan Stiefel is a motorcycle aficionado in real life, a detail that filmmakers quickly co-opted for the leather jacket-wearing, rule-breaking character of Cooper Nielson after casting Stiefel—he even got to ride his own bike in the film. As for how the motorcycle made its way into the final performance, we have Tony-winning choreographer Susan Str...
Sascha Radetsky, then a memberof American Ballet Theatre’s (ABT) corps de ballet, had trained briefly at the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow and even spoke Russian. He auditioned to play Sergei, the charismatic expat who salsas up a storm with an older woman and puts his whole heart into proclaiming “I am your slave,” while kneeling in front of Eva (Zoë ...
When she was cast in Center Stage, Zoë Saldana was an unknown aspiring actor with a few theater credits, a newly minted SAG card, and a background in ballet. Though she hadn’t danced in a few years, Saldana’s commitment to portraying a realistic ballerina made her stand out even among professional company members. “I loved my scenes with Zoë Saldan...
If you were hoping the warm, wonderful friendships you see onscreen in Center Stage weren’t solely the result of top-notch acting, we have excellent news: The cast members had just as much, if not more, fun when the cameras weren’t rolling. Schull remembers taco nights at her apartment in Lincoln Center, weekend dinners, and even a trip to the Hamp...
The cast did a spectacular job of making their touristy shenanigans out on the Hudson River look like the most fun anyone’s ever had—but what you don’t see is the bucket kept just out of frame at all times, ready for poor Amanda Schull’s next bout of seasickness. “We did that whole thing—they chartered that boat, we were at sea for several hours—an...
After running into each other at a drop-in jazz class, Cooper whisks Jody off on his motorcycle to have dessert at his airy loft, where he can’t manage to scrounge up even a stale cookie or two. Fortunately, they come up with an alternate activity. Not only had neither Schull nor Stiefel ever shot a love scene before, they hadn’t yet shot a scene t...
While most of the dancers were professionals, Saldana and Pratt both had doubles who performed the more difficult dance scenes. Saldana’s plot-twist appearance in Jonathan’s ballet, for example, featured Aesha Ash, an NYCB corps de ballet member. “[Zoë] was a super sweetheart,” Ash told Vulture. “I remember she was always full of life and always ha...
Filming Cooper’s rousing contemporary ballet took nearly a week, a process filled with what Schull describes as “a lot of hurry-up-and-wait,” which makes it difficult for dancers to keep their bodies warm and limber enough to perform. They were dancing for an empty auditorium, too, so the crew became their de facto audience. “The crew was really su...
Combined with the pop songs, the flashy, non-traditional costumes make for an especially captivating final performance—but they also made things more difficult for both the dancers and costume designers. Stiefel’s leather pants, for one, ripped every single time he slid on the floor. “I think we made 24 pairs of those,” costume designer Ruth Myers ...
Learn how Center Stage, the 2000 dance film starring Amanda Schull and Zoë Saldana, was made with authenticity and passion. Discover the casting stories, the choreography secrets, and the real-life ballet connections behind the scenes.
Center Stage is a 2000 American teen drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner about a group of young ballet dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City. The film explores the issues and difficulties in the world of professional dance, and how each individual copes with the stresses.
May 12, 2000 · A movie about young ballet students at the American Ballet Center in New York, who face challenges and romances in their first year of training. Roger Ebert praises the realism, the dancing and the musical elements of the film, but criticizes the predictable plot and the character types.
A dozen adolescents have begun their training at the renowned American Ballet Academy, where they encounter tremendous physical and mental stress while vying for a coveted spot in a celebrated ...
- (80)
- Drama
- PG-13
Aug 31, 2020 · American Ballet Theatre is reuniting the cast of Center Stage for the film's 20th anniversary, and current members of ABT revisited some its iconic dance moves.
