Directed by award winning documentary filmmaker Luke Cornish, and produced by Perpetual Entertainment, Biscuit Tin and Creative Bubble; Dance For Your Life is a documentary that takes you on a high intensity journey of passion, grit and determination of some of Brent Street’s best up and coming dancers, as they battle it out to achieve their dreams of becoming a career back-up dancer with world-famous choreographer Dean Lee’s company, Shapehaus.
The journey begins in Sydney, Australia at Brent Street, the home of performing arts in Australia for 40 years now, and a leader in developing talent across live theatre, performance and entertainment. In the rehearsal rooms of Brent Street we are introduced to 200 eager students both past and present, who are hopeful in reaching their dream of becoming a back-up dancer in the highly competitive industry.
What starts as a wall-to-wall sweat-filled room of dancers, through rounds of choreography and improvisational opportunities, the dancers flip, split and spin their way down from 100, then 40, 20 and finally into a final top 10 selection. These 10 selected dancers earn an opportunity to fly across the world to London, England where they will work together in a week long intensive workshop with Dean Lee and other international dancers. At the end of the week, these dancers will put on a showcase performance, from which Dean will select one lucky dancer to receive a contract to join Shapehaus. Dean Lee has worked with famous artists such as Kylie Minogue, The Pussycat Dolls, Eve, and most recently, Janet Jackson.
As the competition progresses we get to know some of the many talented dancers through small interview segments to learn about their hopes, dreams, challenges and personalities. Emily Smith‘s story of her upbringing in particular pulled at my heart strings, and an unexpected injury that potentially impacts Abby Faith White‘s ability to participate has you both heartbroken and amazed at how far dancers will push themselves both mentally and physically to achieve their goals. Hearing about their realities and struggles, insecurities that come with/from the industry, and what they’ve overcome, or are overcoming to get to where they have thus far, is incredibly moving and inspirational. Dance For Your Life has you cheering for each and every single one of these dancers on and off the stage.
Many of Brent Street‘s best have been dancing together for years and have become quite close, this documentary not only displays the competitive journey to Shapehaus, but also the bonds these dancers build when spending so much time in close proximity together. However, in the world of dance, everyone is your competition, even your closest friends. The industry is immense with talent, and as some of the dancers in this documentary explain, a little friendly rivalry never hurt anyone.
Personally I feel quite early on, these clips give away an aspect of who makes it through to the final round. but it definitely doesn’t dull the story or the intensity of the competitiveness by any means. Conversations between various members of the Brent Street family including Owner/Creative Director Lucas Newland and Choreographer Cassie Bartho, along with small excerpts from the audition room, provide an insight into how cutthroat the nature of the industry is.
From an outsiders perspective these dancers seem near perfection and are indistinguishable from one another. Working almost symbiotically together, even the most minuscule mistake could cost you the opportunity of a lifetime. As Dean states “Don’t wait for permission to be great”, and these dancers surely don’t. All is put on the line for their dreams. The hard work and dedication of everyone in and out of these rooms is simply inspiring.
Dance For Your Life is incredibly engaging, well paced, and is something that those with or even without knowledge of the performing arts can enjoy. It has a clear narrative whilst still allowing for general entertainment through the utilisation of dance montages.
Dance For Your Life brings to the big screen an inspiring story of passion, hard work and determination. It shows incredible feats of athleticism, unexpected roadblocks and exposes the relatively unknown realities of what it actually takes to become a professional dancer. Dancers often play a supporting role, but the performers in Dance For Your Life are all made for the spotlight. Look out for these faces because I’m sure we’ll be seeing them all on our stages and screens in the not too distant future.
Dance For Your Life is in cinemas from April 2.