Streetdance 3D (PG) 2010 – 90 minutes

Half term entertainment for all the family!

At last; a British dance movie with an all British cast. Streetdance 3D may well be Britain's answer to Hollywood's, High School Musical. Starring Flawless of Britain’s Got Talent fame as a street dance crew, the “Surge”, it also has cameos from both Diversity, and George Sansom, both former winners of the ITV talent show.

Streetdance tells the tale of an unlikely alliance. Two dance groups, a street dance crew and a ballet troupe, are forced to work together - the former in search of rehearsal space, the latter in search of new inspiration - in order to enter the UK Street Dancing Finals. Although charming at times, the story itself is fairly predictable and unremarkable. Initially reluctant, the two groups gradually come together of their own accord, each recognising the skill and grace of the other's chosen discipline and in the process put together some truly stunning sequences.

Character development is, perhaps not surprisingly, deeply subordinated to these highly polished, well drilled and very precise choreography routines. Charlotte Rampling better known to French audiences (and her marriage to Jean Michel Jarre) is imaginatively cast as the ballet troupe’s visionary dance instructor. She is committed to unusual training methods and more controversially, to giving full artistic reign to the streetdance crew's young and inexperienced choreographer, Carly, nicely played by newcomer, Nichola Burley. But apart from Rampling and a short, but well executed cameo from Sansom, of whom on this evidence, more could and indeed should have been made (particularly in the dance sequences), the characters remain one dimensional, distant and therefore, disappointingly unengaging.

The dancing itself is, however, for the most part, outstanding, and more than makes up for any deficiencies in characterisation or plot. Any question marks over the potential choreographical limitations of street dancing are firmly dismissed by some imaginative and innovative routines - the dance "war" in the nightclub between Surge and Diversity, particularly impressive. Slick and clean, like an army at drill, their commitment to practice and dedication to perfection is plain to see.

Co-Directors Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini marshal their forces with no little skill, the minor issue of the necessity for and impact of 3D technology notwithstanding; a soundtrack written and performed by urban acts including N-Dubz, Lightbulb Thieves and our own Cheryl Cole; clever camera work and a delicate balance between dialogue and dance.

Verdict
Enjoyable and entertaining within the relative confines of its subject matter. Take the kids at half term. 7/10

Dick Morgan
May 2010