How She Move opens today in our theatres. Should you expect cool moves like “Step Up 2″? More like “Stomp The Yard”. Well stepping is totally a different dance its not picked up in Singapore yet I guess. Warning spoilers!

Rutina Wesley, who plays the lead character in this low-budget Canadian urban dance drama, has the energy of exploding popcorn. Her feet pound the ground. Her hands chop to the beat. Her legs twist and pivot like a gymnast’s. Anyone who doubts the athleticism of this form of dancing will be swayed by the display of professional-level prowess on screen.

But there’s also artistry to be found in step-dancing, and that’s part of what gives this film (which picked up the grand jury and audience award prizes at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival) a street-smart appeal even when the storytelling comes across as rough and clunky.

Many of the moves that these superbly trained dancers perform can be found in the repertoire of modern-dance companies. Add the percussive element, with all those pounding limbs in perfect synchronicity, and it forms a music all its own. At one point in the movie, when two dancers hunker down into impossibly contorted positions that make them look like a couple of crabs getting lovey-dovey, you start to realize just how much technique it can take to make these urban moves look effortless.

With its gritty look and lack of gloss, there are even glimpses of less-than-perfect skin on some of the teenagers, something almost unheard of in slick Hollywood productions, director Ian Iqbal Rashid opts for a streetwise authenticity.

The film is set in a poor section of Toronto and tells the story of a daughter of Jamaican immigrants. Raya’s (a solid Wesley) effort to get out of the projects has been derailed. She’s forced to drop out of her exclusive private school after her older sister dies of a drug overdose.

Raya attempts to reconnect with old friends from the neighborhood while figuring out a way to pay for her elite schooling.

Step-dancing could be that way. After demonstrating her prowess, she lands a spot on a highly regarded boys’ team run by an old friend and stepping champ (Dwain Murphy). In the gender-bound world of stepping, that’s a significant tweak of tradition.

Raya hopes to share in the $50,000 that will go to the winning stepping team at an international competition in Detroit.

The competition theme is standard stuff, of course. But Wesley’s performance elevates it. She’s a refreshingly solid presence on screen.

Sometimes blunt to the point of annoying those around her, she comes across to some as too cocky. But she exudes drive and determination. Brennan Gademans, playing a young and bookish dancer with a flair for choreography, blends the same kind of brains and artistic brawn.

Overall, I love this movie due to its story and energetic dance moves. This is not a Hollywood production with beautiful people and high budget but the director manage to get a great result, it is a dance movie that tries to push beyond the formula. In that sense, it’s certainly a step up.

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Official Movie Poster

Singapore Date: 17th April 2008 Language: English Duration: 94 min Rating: PG Genre: Documentary / Drama / Music Tagline: Set your dreams in motion. Starring: Daniel Morrison, Rutina Wesley, Tristan D Lalla, Tracey Armstrong, Dwain Murphy Directed by: Ian Iqbal Rashid Company: Celluloid Dreams Singapore Distributor: United International Pictures iZone Rating: 7/10 Official Website : How She Move

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Movie Trailer

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