The tried and true formula of the small-town dancer with big dreams gets a Kiwi makeover, dances to a distinctly Kiwi beat, and if it's dance you need, then Born to Dance is here to deliver just that.
Huntly dancer Tia-Taharoa Maipi steps up to the plate in his first acting role, playing the lead, Tu.
Working in a warehouse alongside his dodgy best mate Benjy (Stan Walker), his father giving him his marching orders into the army, Tu sees his only escape, turning his love of hip hop into a paying gig.
When he gets asked to audition for K-Crew, the best of the best - he goes for it.
The road to fulfilling one's dreams is of course never an easy one, and for Tu it will test all his resolve, not to mention his friendships.
This isn't the most fresh or inventive of stories, and it will be up to you whether you'll forgive the narrative sins of this local outing in exchange for Parris Goebel's world class choreography and the crews who so brilliantly deliver her routines.
Born to Dance is worth the ticket price for exactly that - the dancing. The grand finale is a barn-storming high-fiving hell-raiser of hip-hop with a pumping P-Money soundtrack through-out, and it's a brilliant way to send cinema-goers out into the night.
Three-and-a-half stars.
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Born to Dance:: Director: Tammy Davis:: Starring: Tia-Taharoa Maipi, Stan Walker, Parris Goebel, Kherington Payne, John Tui, Scribe:: Rating: PG - Coarse language & drug references:: Running Time: 96 minutes:: Release Date: September 24, 2015
