I can't believe how underrated this film is and how critical some have been about this film. When I first watched it. I was hooked on every scene. I showed this movie to so many of my friends and family that love dance movies and just a feel good film, they all said how good this movie was. The dancing is spectacular by the main character Kate. She is absolutely gorgeous, sexy and really knows how to dance.The acting ability was flawed in a couple of instances but we are talking about people who more than likely have dancing as their first love and profession and acting as an add on so please! ease up all you massively criticizing people out there. WE are only talking about a few instances here anyway not the whole film.I like this film more than the first, I've gotta say. There will be people that will disagree but if you are looking for a light hearted feel good film to watch with plenty of dancing, give this one a go.

Well, I want to start off saying that I loved the first movie and I own it on DVD -I have been a big fan of Peter Gallagher since The OC, and now I'm a fan of Amanda Schull and Ethan Stiefel! I originally gave the first installment a low ranking (2 1/2 or 3), but it now deserves a higher ranking, especially as I've watched it about 10+ times! This movie, however... I am giving it a two, but that's the movie itself -there are actors in this movie who do deserve a higher ranking, but that's only a select few!I have mixed emotions about the title of this film, as part of me says that the title's not appropriate for the movie, especially how it's not very properly made, and the script doesn't have much in it; on the other hand, it's appropriate because this movie needs to turn up the script at the most. The story lacks oomph also -the chemistry with the characters, the speed, and... the sex appeal. Centre Stage: Turn It Up is supposed to be the second installment of the original and it's supposed to play of the original, and even though it mentions what's happened to Cooper's dance company, it still doesn't explain what happened to the rest of the original movies characters like Jody, Eva, Maureen, Sergei, Charlie or Erik; nor does it mention whatever happened to Kathleen or Juliette... It'd be a much better movie if it did the fore-mentioned.The dance sequences were great, I must say, but again, it lacked the fore-mentioned, especially, as I also mentioned before, oomph -not the oomph the first one did. It was great that the director respected Cooper and Jody's relationship, even though she'd turned him down at the end (of the first movie). Don't get the wrong impression here, Amanda Schull (who played Jody Sawyer in the first installment) is *not* in the second movie, nor is she mentioned.The cast, also, lacks that certain quality... mainly it's called experience or capability to act. Of course, that doesn't imply to Ethan and Peter, as they've both done this before, and Sarah Jayne Jensen (Suzanne Von Stroh) was very good, and Nicole Munoz (Bella Parker) was exceptionally awesome! The rest of the cast, though, weren't very believable in their roles, and they need more coaching!Peter Gallagher doesn't make a 'cameo', as that implies that he only pops up once; He pops up roughly five times throughout the movie, and he resumes his position as the director of the company, though, Ethan has a much bigger part and is in the movie a lot more! I have to give a dishonourable mention for the fact that the film only follows Kate Parker (played by Rachele Brooke Smith) for the most part and only occasionally follows another character, her love interest Tommy Anderson (Played by Tommy Wormald).Saying that, it's not a very bad movie and it's worth a second (or more) look! I do recommend it for a movie on a rainy day, and who knows? My opinion might just change! Better luck next time, guys!

I often find myself disregarding reviews by viewers who simply trash the entire film but in this case, please take my advice.As a big fan of the first film, I was excited to see this movie. I enjoyed the realistic elements of the lives of the characters of the first one, expecting the second film to be the same. It's obvious it has been modernized and made significantly more urban than the first one but I assumed there would be some similarities, wrong!This film tells the story of a young "self taught" dancer who fails to get into the academy but falls for the new rising star. She finds herself working as a waitress come dancer at a club but eventually manages to overcome all the odds to gain the leading role in a new ballet "Just to show her sister you can make all your dreams come true"Another reviewer claimed these characters had great chemistry. They may have had great chemistry but they certainly lacked acting ability. I can't say whether it was the cliché script or the poor acting but this movie became somewhat painful to watch. There were several moments of very typical flirtatious close ups and over the top crying. It was ultimately cheese in a TV screen.Being an experienced dancer myself, I was particularly infuriated with the ending of this film in which Kate "A self taught Ballerina" triumphs over all other dancers to gain the lead in this new Ballet with her boyfriend. Not only is it extremely far fetched to say that she would receive this role but it is simply impossible for someone to (as she says) "Just watch ballet videos and mimic what I saw" IT JUST Doesn't HAPPEN! The mere fact she received the role over the more technical dancers is simply ludicrous, namely because they are significantly better (Which is emphasized in several shots) Essentially this movie was more "Step Up" rather than "Center Stage". It lacked the discipline that was evident in the first one that so many dancers could relate to. If you enjoyed "Step Up" and can stand to watch poor acting in replacement of attractive people then you may enjoy this movie. For everyone else; Ignore the "Center Stage:" part and focus on the "Turn it up" because this film has no resemblance to the first one.

Before watching this movie I did look it up here at IMDb, and did notice it didn't really have great ratings. Well, so glad I went with my vibe and watched it anyway. I loved the film. About Kate (Rachele Brooke Smith), I very much enjoyed watching her in this film. I've never heard of her before, but now I know who she is. Aside overall pretty (adorable smile) and cool dancer, personally, I think she did very good in her role as Kate. Somebody commented that she looks like Ashley Simpson (dark hair, pre-op Ashley). I agree, in quite a few scenes, I thought so, too, and I couldn't help for a moment to wonder if Ashley Simpson might've been a good Kate, too. Well, actually, probably, she would've done okay with the ballet dancing scenes since I hear that Ashley Simpson used to dance ballet when she was younger. But as for the other dancing styles performed in this movie, the only other kind of Ashley dancing I'm familiar with aside her ballet is the "Ashley Ho-down" thing. So, on second thought, nope. I don't think it would've been appropriate for this film. Picturing her as Kate, no. I think they definitely chose the appropriate actress for this film. I'm glad they went with Rachele Brooke Smith. She owned the part. She owned the dance floor. I look forward to seeing her in other cool films such as this. I give her and the overall movie a "10"!