The Guardian
Subversive entertainment it ain't. But nor is this well-paced yarn - with pleasing albeit narrowly scoped performances from a perky cast - bereft of pleasantries and surprises.
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Dance Academy: The Movie
Follow-up to the twice Emmy-nominated Australian TV series that saw a group of teens through the ups and downs of training at the elite National Academy of Dance. Stars Miranda Otto.
Picking up eighteen months after the television series finale, the characters have moved on from the Academy and are living very different lives. Tara (Xenia Goodwin) was destined to become one of the top dancers of her generation but suffered a devastating injury that crippled her career. Can she make a comeback when she discovers what being defined by a dream really means?
Less2017Rating: PG, Mild themes101 minsAustralia, Germany
Drama
- Director:
- Jeffrey Walker ('Ali's Wedding', TV's 'Home and Away')
- Writer:
- Samantha Strauss
- Cast:
- Miranda OttoXenia GoodwinKeiynan LonsdaleJordan RodriguesDena KaplanThomas LaceyAlicia BanitTara Morice
Dance Academy: The Movie | Reviews
100%15 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
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News.com.au
Director Jeffrey Walker ... doesn’t mess around with the proven formula.
Instead, he applies a dancer’s rigour to the steps we already know.
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Herald Sun
The old-fashion story path navigated here (much of which takes place in the US) is a lot more downbeat and realistic about the plight of young performers than many viewers will expect. The movie as a whole is all the better for it.
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FilmInk
Dance Academy fans will already be on board for the feature-length continuing adventures of Tara and company, but newcomers will have a good time, too.
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Daily Telegraph
Walker exhibits admirable restraint in the face of such potentially overwrought romantic tropes, refusing to milk the emotional moments, encouraging his actors to underplay the key scenes. The characters' self-deprecating humour also serves the film well.
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