Everybody Dance
Writer-Director: Dan Watt
Critics Rating: 3 stars
Duration: 1 hour, 25 mins
Language: English
Genre: Documentary
Release details: VOD Release includes Amazon, iTunes, GooglePlay, Vudu, Spectrum, Comcast, Cox, Dish, DirecTV, and many more.
Story
This documentary explores how ballet has changed the lives of kids with differing abilities and their daily challenges as their incredible dance teacher helps them prepare for an emotional end-of-year dance recital.
Review
All of us people who are born with the gift of a fully functional life often forget to count our blessings and take it for granted. And it’s only when we see those who are less fortunate than us and yet making every effort to follow their dreams that we reflect back on how lucky we are. And the world needs more people who can partner with them to help them realise their true potential at a very early age.
‘Everybody Dance’ is a heart-touching yet very practical journey of five special-needs kids and their ballet instructor Bonnie as they count down to their all-important year-end recital. It quite nicely shows the challenges that these kids face every single day, as they are told that they are not normal and how something as simple as a ballet class can change their lives. However, it is never done in a way that we as audience feel sorry for them. In fact, it only makes us root for them more passionately. Of course, it’s a niche film because of its subject and that means it’s not populist. It’s not something that an average movie-goer would watch for entertainment. It’s meant to educate, enlighten and inspire. To that end, it achieves its purpose.
Writer-director Dan Watt does well in bringing out each of his subject’s story and journey to the recital that is symbolic of their grit and spirit. Being a dancer himself, Dan utilizes his expertise and experience in telling the story of these real people. But he doesn’t plot his narrative and lets it flow with the way these kids behave and react to situations. This gives it a more authentic feel and you wait for the moment when these children perform on their big day.
‘Everybody Dance’ isn’t a preachy documentary. It’s just a thoughtful piece of cinema that helps us understand the life of the differently abled to live it to the fullest and those who help them achieve that.
ReviewRon 