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'How She Move'

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BY RAFER GUZMÁN | rafer.guzman@newsday.com

January 25, 2008

Somewhere between the acrobatic dance sequences and lead-footed script of "How She Move" there exist fleeting glimpses of a serious film that could have been. The cultural backdrop of step-dancing - a modern folk choreography that extends from early African-American fraternities to contemporary hip-hop - is potentially rich, and the central story about at-risk high-schoolers seeking a ticket to a better life is universal. But "How She Move" is content to remain a teen flick, hoping to satisfy its audience with a hip-hop soundtrack, a few cute faces and music-video set-pieces.

Rutina Wesley, a dancer making her feature film debut, plays Raya, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants living in a generic ghetto (in reality the Toronto area). Raya has a lot on her plate, including a dream of an Ivy League education, a natural talent for stepping and the memory of an older sister who strayed into drugs and wound up dead. At school she's courted by the local step-king, Bishop (Dwain Murphy), but taunted by rival stepper Michelle (Tre Armstrong), who leads the Fem Phatal Dancers. Hovering in the background is Garvey (Clé Bennett), an oily drug dealer who also happens to step. (Everyone in this film does, except parents and teachers.)

Based on that brief outline, you can probably guess that Raya will enter a dance competition to pay for her schooling, with Garvey as her main rival. But the script, by Annmarie Morais, dogpiles so many complications onto Raya that even her muscular legs buckle. Enemies turn into friends, and vice versa, at a dizzying pace, which allows for plenty of teen drama but makes for an awfully confusing film. After several breakups, makeups and re-breaks, Raya starts to look less like a heroine and more like a selfish flake. By the competition's end, you might be rooting for that drug dealer.

Oddly, "How She Move" pays scant attention to stepping itself, a mesmerizing form of street gymnastics akin to break dancing. Occasionally the magic shines through, especially when real-life step crews show up to the competition armed with umbrellas, batons and canes. But the phenomenon goes completely unexplained and unexplored, as if stepping were merely a fill-in for rap-battling, cheerleading or marching-band drumming.

HOW SHE MOVE (PG-13). You know the drill: Young street dancer seeking ticket out of ghetto must enter competition, learn about self. Directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid. 1:34 (teen themes and language). At area theaters.