What happens on an intensely personal journey to possible fame and recognition from Australia to London by a troupe of dancers competing for a coveted permanent contract?
This documentary explores ten of Australia’s most energetic, exciting and influential young dancers as they compete for a spot with a world-renowned international dance company with a chance to step onto the global stage as professional dancers.
DANCE FOR YOUR LIFE is a high-stakes project that showcase some of Australia’s best dancers. Remember America’s Got Talent? This is where fame was gained by Aussies, EmilySmith, Conor Bann-Murray, along with Max Ostler. The film follows this once-in-a—lifetime where friendships are forged, disappointments overcome, fears are confronted and futures forever changed. The film probes the questions: at what cost and what are you prepared to sacrifice as a run up to the rigid, competitive motivations necessary by each competitor.
Its this competition that raises complex emotions where personal demons are battled on and off the dance floor to gain the status of permanent contracts with Shapehaus, the groundbreaking new dance company created by impresario Dean Lee, world renowned choreographer. Lee’s career is a brand association with an extraordinary stable of global icons like Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson. The pussycat Dolls, Chaka Khan, Shania Twain. Eve, The Jacksons and Leona Lewis, to name a few. In this game, it’s experience that sets the bar impossibly high for the dancers to earn his approval.
Under his tutelage and uncompromising mentorship, these aspiring dancers from Australia’s leading performing art studio, Brent Street, are pushed and cajoled to their limits physically, emotionally and creatively as they discover what it takes to truly turn their passions and ambitions ito a professional career. It’s a deep lens, intimately portraying the inner world of commercial back-up dancers where an opening is highly contested and chances are few. Friendships fray under the grind of competition but these young aspirants know that only 10 of Brent Street graduates are offered the chance to fly to London to audition for international dance company Shapehaus Dance Theatre led by their charismatic choreographer, Dean Lee.
Who is gonna make the cut is what DANCE FOR YOUR LIFE is about with a slew of tears, insecurities, traumas on and off the dance floor, but it’s their motivation that has the gravity. It’s intense and emotionally charged spotlighting the raw talent and immense dedication necessary to succeed. The audition is a tough battleground where 200 hopefuls are whittled down with focus on their mental and physical demands. I love the endearments between competitors as well as their resilience facing personal traumas with the mentorship as the central plank in this demanding business navigating dancers through intense choreography. The film is a powerful, fast-paced “behind-the-scenes” look inside this industry. Its a testament to the dedication required for a professional dance career. The skills learned through dance after everything is said and done, is the loftiest, most moving, most beautiful of the arts.
DANCE FOR YOUR LIFE opens in cinemas on April 2
