It
is not just kiwis and hobbits in New Zealand. They also have hip hop. It speaks to working class Maori kids like Tu and his friends, who are looking for
their place in society. They have all kinds of moves, but the national hip hop
dance competition has long been dominated by Kane’s well-funded,
widely-sponsored K-Crew. A grudge match is brewing between them in Tammy Davis’s
Born to Dance (trailer here), which screens
during the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
If
Tu does not figure his post-high school life out fast, his Sergeant father will
enlist him in the army. He thinks he sees his opportunity when K-Crew, the reigning
dance champions, invite him to audition. This is no mere cattle call. For
weeks, Tu will travel to Auckland to participate in the long term process-of-elimination
tryout. Naturally, he keeps it secret from his own crew, led by his lifelong
platonic pal, Vonnie. Only his semi-delinquent buddy Benjy knows the truth.
Of
course, Tu has the right stuff, but all the special attention he gets from Kane’s
girlfriend Sasha could be a problem. Frankly, she knows he is pretty scummy,
but her snobby, absentee parents only let her stay in New Zealand to dance as
she wishes as long as she is still part of a winning squad. She therefore needs
Kane.
BTD features a
ridiculously charismatic cast in a total Arthur Murray dance-by-numbers
screenplay. It is a lead pipe cinch Tu and Kane will eventually face each
other. Yet, that hardly matters as long as Davis and choreographer Parris
Goebel keeps the energy cranked up. There are some cool dance sequences
distributed throughout BTD, but
nothing tops the wildly inventive moves Tu’s crew uncorks during the first
round of the nationals. On the other hand, it is hard to take K-Crew seriously,
because most of their routines bring to mind Mike Myers doing Dieter on Sprockets.
Former
So You Think You Can Dance contestant
Kherington Payne shows more presence than you would expect from Sasha. In
contrast, Tia-Taharoa Maipi is likable enough, but a bit of a dramatic lightweight
as Tu. However, Stan Walker is the real breakout discovery, demonstrating
considerable range and all kinds of dance floor cred as the sensitive bad boy
Benjy.
Yes,
there are some real moments, but Goebels’ choreography is still not as
distinctive as Yako Miyamoto’s taiko drumming and dancing that so distinguished
Make Your Move. Nevertheless, BTD has more fire and grit than an army
of Step Up clones. The fact that Tu,
Benjy, and Vonnie are Maori is very important to the narrative, but it is not
belabored to the point of distraction. This is a dance film not a social issue
drama. In fact, it is a rather enjoyable one, in an underdog-Horatio Alger-kids
from Fame kind of way. Recommended
for dance movie fans, Born to Dance screens
again tomorrow (9/13) and Friday (9/18) as part of this year’s TIFF.