WFG RATING: B-

Vision Films presents a 6S Entertainment production. Directed by Nayip Ramos. Produced by Ryan Armendariz and Jimmy T. Summerall. Written by Jimmy T. Summerall. Cinematography by Cameron Schmucker. Edited by Jeff Wright.

Stars Savannah Lee May, Maria Canals-Barrera, Laura Krystine, Gunnar Burkhardt, Ava Whitworth, Simmons Arnold, Mia Licosati, Bailey Sok, and Hayden Summerall.

A young dancer moves to a new city and incurs the wrath of a spoiled brat in this family film that seems to be a typical film in the vein of films like Step Up and Bring It On. 

All Lex enjoys doing is dancing. She taught her little sister Kerri but below the surface, there is something missing. Their mother Rachel can’t seem to make it to their competitions due to her work. When Rachel is laid off, she does find a new job. However, there is a catch. The family has to move from Detroit to Los Angeles. Lex decides to temporarily stop dancing to focus on schooling and eventually getting a part-time job.

Upon their arrival in Los Angeles, Kerri makes friends with a new dance troupe who plan to compete but lose their coach. Lex is offered to coach the girls and she refuses at first until she learns she would be getting paid. She bonds with the team and her moves attract a local squad run by the affluent Shayla. However, when squad member Travis begins to fall for Lex, Shayla gets jealous and kicks Lex and Travis out. An upcoming competition for a grand prize of a full ride scholarship will settle the score between these dance rivals. 

If you know dance films that have a romantic angle, then you’re not missing much here. There doesn’t seem to be anything really special in terms of anything new here. And yet, it still is an enjoyable watch. It’s a “fish out of water” story meshed with a romantic angle that focuses on a dancer just trying to get by and well, has something hidden within herself that hinders her. You know the story. 

Although it doesn’t bring anything that new to the table, it doesn’t mean you can’t help but root for protagonist Lex, played by Savannah Lee May. We know Lex is a great dancer, but she also has something hindering her and it involves her father, who isn’t in the picture. She also is upset at first when her mother, played by Wizards of Waverly Place’s Maria Canals-Barrera, doesn’t show up to her recitals or competitions because of work. However, you do want to root for her as she must overcome her issues to become aces. 

If there is one character that you have to love to hate in the film, it’s definitely the antagonist Shayla, played by Laura Krystine. Shayla is one of the most spoiled brats to be seen in films. Sometimes the acting reminds me of a Dhar Mann video when it comes to her reacting to things. And of course, she has two besties, one of course being a total follower and the other, more grounded and eventually sees her true nature and befriends our heroine. This may be seen as a family film, but Shayla does say some words that don’t exactly mesh with the genre. She even goes as far as to make an embarrassment of her father when they attend a birthday party. It’s like the filmmakers are telling you to make sure you root for Shayla to lose. 

The one element that may stand out in the film is the dance style. Shayla’s squad tends to go for a simple dance style of moving hips that are reminiscent of seeing singers like Rihanna and Shakira, with not much chutzpah to it. Meanwhile, Lex’s style is more a hip hop style with frenetic movements and panache. It all goes down in the finale, a competition that offers a cash prize and full ride scholarship to a school of the arts. 

Dance Rivals doesn’t offer anything new to the table in terms of originality. However, you can’t help but want to root for the lead and have to deal with a spoiled brat of a villain. It feels like a Dhar Mann feature film at times, but there are worse films out there.