by Erin Free
Worth: $17.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Emily Smith, Max Ostler, Tiana Vassellos, Conor Bann-Murray, Arabella Meleo, Max Simmons, Jake Sergi, Abby Faith White, Savanna Rose Pillay, Sammy Goldie, Zac De Gersigny
Intro:
Dance For Your Life is a fitting testament to a group of incredible performers…and a wholly entertaining watch into the high-stepping, hard-jumping bargain.
Kicking off with its first series in 2024, the reality TV series DanceLife – streamed on Prime – stands as one of the best local proponents of this oft-maligned small screen format. An access-all-areas look behind the figuratively plush, velvety curtain of Brent Street, Australia’s pre-eminent dance school, DanceLife was jammed tight not just with extraordinary dancing, but also fascinating participants. Behind every jump-split and foot-stomp was a background story to be told, resulting in utterly absorbing viewing.
Now, apparently in lieu of an official second season, comes the feature film documentary Dance For Your Life. Bustling and fast-paced, this highly entertaining big screen venture applies a more rigorous, straight-driving narrative to proceedings, while both introducing new participants and bringing back a strong crew of very welcome returning players.
The set-up is simple, but far from simplistic: UK dance legend Dean Lee – a principal back-up dancer for, amongst others, Janet Jackson – has opened up a spot in his esteemed London dance group Shapehaus, and he wants to fill it with an Aussie. The head honchos at Brent Street – director Lucas Newland, and dynamic choreographers Cassie Bartho and Stephen Tannos – are contacted, and boom, an audition process is set in motion.
Cutting down a large group to an eventual ten who will make the trip to London to audition in-person for Dean Lee, the dancers – a mix of current Brent Street students and previously graduated alumni – file in and boldly state their narrative case. For fans of DanceLife, this marks a welcome return for powerhouse performers Emily Smith, Max Ostler, Tiana Vassellos, Conor Bann-Murray, Arabella Meleo and Max Simmons, all of whom established themselves as compulsively watchable in the initial series. They’re almost matched in watchability here by students Jake Sergi (a cocky, gender-fluid country boy whose arrogance masks a wounded soul), Abby Faith White, Savanna Rose Pillay, Sammy Goldie and Zac De Gersigny.
Dance instructor Dean Lee also makes for a surprisingly sympathetic figure. Though a no-bullshit, hard-arse perfectionist, he’s far from your typical back-up dancer (“I’m not hot,” he says plaintively at one point. “I’m not sexy”), and is renowned for casting performers solely on their ability and appeal, as opposed to how “on-trend” they are in terms of their physicality. Lee seems to genuinely care about his young dancers too, which gives the film an enjoyable sense of warmth.
The dancing on display in Dance For Your Life is nothing short of staggering. The skill levels and commitment of these young performers are through the roof, and director Luke Cornish captures it all expertly with his slick, roving camera, giving them all appropriate room to move. Like most good movies, however, Dance For Your Life really lives and dies on its story and characters, and these young dancers are all utterly compelling, while their fast-paced journey to dancing glory is fraught excitingly with challenges and obstacles at every turn. Dance For Your Life is a fitting testament to a group of incredible performers…and a wholly entertaining watch into the high-stepping, hard-jumping bargain.
