In an effort to maintain my reputation as an intellectual heavyweight, I chose to watch: THE NEXT STEP LIVE - THE MOVIE, 2015. This is my 178th film of the year so far. First things first: all of the dancing in this show is done in front of a waist-high black background; so, why oh why oh why were the dancers allowed to wear black leggings?! From the waist down, all one can see of most of the dancers are wildly flailing feet! It troubles me that the person who made that decision was able to ascend to a senior position in their profession. As for the film itself... It's a cheery, kid-friendly documentary (although I sincerely hope no children attempt to copy the warm-up routine shown in the movie - that's a herniated intervertrebal disc waiting to happen). The performers are enthusiastic and sincere, none more so than Jordan Clarke (who'll be familiar to fans of the superb My Perfect Landing), who dominates the stage whenever she appears. The only part of the 'film' I didn't enjoy, unfortunately, was the dancing. Great performers make their craft appear dreamily easy, but these youngsters make it all look an effort. The individual elements of the dance are impeccably performed, no doubt, but they're strung together in an entirely unnarative and discordant way, like physical gibberish. There's no emotion, no narrative flow, no expression; all there is is showing off. Lots and lots, and lots, of showing off. Maybe that's what modern dance is: maybe it's just showing off. I'm old: I don't like it when people show off. So - positives: Jordan Clarke, sincerity and enthusiasm: negatives: the dancing. Quality 6.5/10 Entertainment 4/10 (though I realise I'm hardly the target audience.)
