''Balla con noi'' () is a 2011 Italian

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

dance film A dance film (also known as screen dance) is a movie in which dancing is used to reveal inspirational challenges and the central themes of the film, whether these themes be connected to narrative or story, states of being, or more experimental and ...

directed by Cinzia Bomoll.

Plot

Erica is a

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

at the National Dance Academy of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Her final exam is just a couple of months away. Although she tries her best, she is not dancing up to her standards. Something's not working. Her teacher Valeria shames her in front of her classmates as a mean to try and shake her. The distraction and the stress cause her to fall and hurt her ankle. She stops going to school and her whole world seems to collapse around her. Her brother, Marco is the leader of the Avengers, a multi-ethnic

hip-hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop, hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture, hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made po ...

crew. Some years prior, Marco decided to run away from home to pursue a different lifestyle than the traditional one desired for him by his parents. Erica tries to get closer to Marco in search of support in this time of crisis. She then meets Congo, Marco's best friend, and Congo invites her to join the Avengers in The Battle, the Italian qualifiers for the

Battle of the Year Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying ...

, an International

breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...

competition. Erica starts to dance with the crew and discovers a world totally different from hers. At the same time, when she tries to deepen her relationship with Marco, she understands that the distance between the two siblings became too big through the years. Marco tries to help his sister recover her love for

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

by inviting her to the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

at the Rome Opera House. Moved by the skilled ballerinas performing

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

, Erika seems to fall in love again with classical dance. She goes back to the Academy and rekindle her relationship with Valeria. Unfortunately, she discovers that her graduation exam and The Battle are on the same day. Erica would like to go with the crew; but her new friends convince her that her place is in the Academy.

Cast

Reception

Box office

The film opened in 42 Italian theaters on the 27th of May 2011. The film grossed €46.000 in its first week. By 15 November 2023, the film had grossed $67,512 worldwide. The film bombed at the box office in relation to its production cost of €1.8 million. The movie was distributed in 13 countries, including in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

under the title ''Я хочу танцевать''.

Critical response

The movie has been met with mixed reviews and it was mostly praised for its hip-hop choreographies. Critics favorably compared ''Let's Dance'' to an urban fairy tale and to American dance movies more than to a realistic film.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt2016152 2011 films 2010s Italian-language films Italian dance films 2010s Italian films