The teen dance drama "Center Stage," released in the spring of 2000 at the height of the rom-com era, was a box-office flop. Like its perfectionist characters, however, it could not be held back. This dramatic tale of coming-of-age, love triangles, and competition in a secretive world quickly developed a cult following. Today, a TV adaptation has just been announced (opens in new tab). Over time, the film, which turns 20 today, has proven to be the greatest dance film of our generation.

Directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner, the plot follows a group of dancers competing for coveted positions in the fictional American Ballet Company (ABC). Thanks to its intense rivalry, dramatic dance confrontations, and impressive soundtrack, "Center Stage" was given by fans a place alongside dance movie milestones such as "Saturday Night Fever," "Footloose," and "Dirty Dancing." If GIFs were a common means of communication back then, Maureen's (Susan May Pratt) and Eva's (Zoe Saldana) lines must have been a regular on social networking timelines. The film also bluntly exposed a harsh reality of the art world: that most promising artists never make it professionally. (This sentiment is often expressed through the mouth and eyebrows of Jonathan Reeves, the main choreographer and director of the American Ballet Academy.)

Sweet Jody Sawyer (Amanda Schull) is the protagonist, navigating the world of dance and the accompanying bad boys of the ballet world amidst setbacks such as criticism for having the "wrong" body type and bad feet. For Shull, a professional ballet dancer (open in new tab), the film was her first acting job on camera. She told Marie Claire, "Everything about Jodie was so ingrained in me that it was an easy experience to play it, but it was also a challenge to express it because I'd never done that kind of acting job before."

Fascinated by fellow ABC dancer Charlie (Sascha Radetsky) and notorious ballet superstar Cooper Nielsen (Ethan Stiefel), Jodie finds herself in a love triangle that unfolds on and off stage. Jodie becomes infatuated with Cooper, and the two engage in a sexy flirtation (on the back of Cooper's motorcycle, presumably to Brooklyn). The sex scene, set to a sweet Mandy Moore-esque soundtrack, is perfectly dated and utterly chilling, even 20 years later. (Jodie thinks Cooper is her boyfriend.

Stiefel, who was a professional dancer with the American Ballet Theatre (as were many of the supporting cast), says that over the years she has often been confused with her center stage character. I was once the dean of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), and many times parents would ask me sarcastically, 'Do you really live a real life like Cooper Nielsen?'" '" says Stiefel. When it comes to motorcycles and dancing, yes, I do. But when it comes to young female colleagues, ...... No." That's not how I work."

Jody is surrounded by her roommates, the headstrong Eva Rodriguez and type-A Maureen Cummings. Throughout "Center Stage," Eva's rebellious attitude includes smoking in her dorm room, wearing a black leotard, and chewing gum during rehearsals. 'About this character,' Saldana says. 'When you come from a world where certain resources are unavailable to you, you grow up believing it's because you don't belong. Even though I admire them, I have never seen them expressed or portrayed the way I do." Saldana believes that Eva's way of breaking the code is "to protect her dignity. "

'Center Stage' was Saldana's first film role and the perfect one for the former dancer. She said, "I've been dancing for almost 10 years of my life, so to be able to play Eva in my first studio film, and a big one at that, about ballet, was a really wonderful feeling. I was so excited to be a part of this film because it meant I had to say goodbye to an art form that I had fought so hard to turn into an actress and be successful in."

Eva acted as if she didn't care that much about ballet, but Maureen didn't care about anything else. This character struggled with bulimia, her own unattainable standards, and an emotionally abusive stage mom. Maureen found herself an outcast, resentful of her supposed future, and aware that her devotion to ballet was limiting her life experiences and robbing her of joy. She also delivered one of the most despicable comebacks in film history: "I'm the best ballerina at the American Ballet Academy, and 20 years later, we're still trembling.

The filmmakers had intended to cast a dancer worthy of this poignant line, but Pratt won the role. She trained "at best" two months for the role, and a body double filled the void. Pratt recalls, "I put a lot of pressure on myself to dance with [the other performers] because I'm not a real dancer." 'I literally couldn't dance. The actress revealed that much of Maureen's backstory was cut from the film, including a moment between her and her on-screen boyfriend Jim (Ione Bailey) and Maureen's growing resentment over the dance: "I think it was cut wisely. It was too much going on, it was too long."

The film was also a bit of a "one-act" affair, as it was "too much going on, too long.

Ultimately, Eva and Maureen serve as foils for each other: Maureen comes to believe that becoming a ballet dancer is not her dream, and offers Eva one last dance workshop to attend.

Eva, too, was supposed to have a bigger story to tell. She was "too proud to ask for help or be vulnerable. She loved ballet, but she was afraid of it and very tough about it, and her brother was like an 'anchor' for her," Saldana says. Saldana reveals that her brother Victor was supposed to be the limo driver who took the dancers around town on holidays.

"[Eva and her brother] had a lot of scenes together," recalls Shull. In the script, Shull recalls, "the brother dies in the middle of the film, and Eva's whole life comes into perspective, and she wonders if she wants to continue dancing." (In fact, the first scene Shull shot was Eva's brother's funeral.) However, the actress believes that if Victor's story had been included, the film would have taken "a completely different turn" and would have been "nine hours long."

Eva's character was denied the meaty backstory she deserved, but Saldana's cheeky, vibrant performance proved pivotal for the actress, cementing her as a future star. The film catapulted Saldana into leading roles in numerous box office hits ("Star Trek," "Avatar," "Guardians of the Galaxy") at a time when women of color were rarely offered top jobs. It was something to be very proud of for someone like me, who is from Queens and is a person of color," Saldana said.

"Experiencing it vicariously through Eva was truly magical for me."

While the relationships between the dancers gave the film its dramatic momentum, it was the final recital that turned "Center Stage" into an iconic "dance film." The climax of the film is Jonathan's traditional piece and Cooper's punk rock ballet.

Jonathan's choreography was a low-key, conventional piece set to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, while Cooper's number was a rebellious act set to the soundtrack of Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai, mimicking the onstage motorcycle riding and love scenes that It was. Stiefel recalls, "I think it was after I was cast that the motorcycle came into the film."

The motorcycle highlighted Cooper's narrative, but the sultry performance is best remembered for Shull's chain turn over a tutu. This iconic and radical scene is one that Shull struggled to perfect. I remember doing the split down on [Ethan] and being very worried about looking stiff or racy."

The film grossed only $17 million at the theatrical box office, a figure that belied its legacy. Two decades later, "Center Stage" laid the kind of foundation for the sports dramas that have dominated Netflix in recent years. The short-lived series "Spinning Out" followed the grueling world of ice skating, while "Dare Me" tackled the intensity of competitive cheerleading. And, of course, Jody, Maureen, Eva, and Charlie were early precursors to Navarro College's Ladarius, Jerry, and others in "Cheerleading Dan: The True Story of How a High School Girl Won the National Cheerleading Championship" (opens in new tab).

And just as "Cheerleading" captivated audiences with its cast's genuine passion for the sport, "Center Stage" became beloved for making dance the star of the show. Because the majority of the film's stars were dancers, it was easy to ignore the plot holes and clichéd dialogue that drew the ire of critics. I think it was because the director, Nick Heitner, insisted on having the dancers play the roles of dancers. And I think that's what gave it an authenticity as a dance film that no other dance film at the time, or at that time, had."

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