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Travis (Patrick Swayze), Chrissa (Lisa Niemi) and Max (George dela Peña) are three former
principal dancers of Alex' (Matthew Walker) Dance Company who left seven years ago after a heart-breaking fight during a rehearsal.
They are now living separate lives, away from each other and away from ballet but the unexpected death of Alex reunites them to save the company and perform the dance they were suppose to perform 7 years ago. Still passionate about dancing, they commit to perform one more and relieve their dreams. As they struggle to regain their skills, they also struggle to repair broken relationships, revive lost confidence and rekindle dampened friendships.
The movie (first released as Without A Word) has a very powerful choreography,
fantastic scoring, fluid cinematography pieced together by a choppy narrative and unimpressive acting.
Niemi should have been content as the lead star and left the storytelling to someone else. The film does not take off from its theater roots to the big screen. Although it has a promising storyline, it fails to metamorphose because of a very poor screenplay. The plot is not focused and characterization has no depth. The only thing that keeps it interesting enough are the beautiful dance sequences choreographed with brilliantly selected music. Correspondingly, the vibrant camera movements, dramatic lighting and dynamic editing totally capture the beauty of the dances.
What makes a dance – the heart or the feet? What defines success – fortune or fulfillment?
What matters in a show – how many people are watching or how they appreciate the performance? In the midst of the many issue the lead characters bring to fore, these are some ideals worth reflecting on. Chrissa realizes that a dancer (or for that matter anyone) needs to know the techniques and basics of a movement but the dance is empty and meaningless without heart, soul and passion from the performer. Consequently, Max argues that if a person does his best at his chosen trade, the payoff doest not come in cash but in the knowledge that he brings and gives everything he has every time. In the finale, the three principals dance their heart out for a little girl, an old mentor, their co-dancers and more importantly for themselves. They understand that with every presentation, they need not to look if all the seats are taken but if they successfully reach out and touch the heart of even one person in the audience, wrapping him in the same emotion, and elevating in the same ideal they are interpreting. Dance (and art is a portrayal of life and every performance is a fragment of the same laughter, the same tears, and the same love any other person has felt. Without truth and passion, there cannot be a connection between the performer and the audience.
(Date Reviewed: 12 August 2005)
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