''Feel the Beat'' is a 2020 American

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Elissa Down Elissa Down is an Australian filmmaker, who in 1999 and 2000, was nominated for Young Film-maker of the year at the WA Screen Awards. Her major works are a number of award-winning short films, ''Summer Angst'', ''The Cherry Orchard'', ''Her Ou ...

, written by Michael Armbruster and

Shawn Ku Shawn Ku is a U.S. choreographer and motion picture director. He has also danced on Broadway, and acted in an independent feature-length film. Inspired by his family's personal connection to the Virginia Tech shooting and unexpected death of a ...

and starring

Sofia Carson Sofía Daccarett Char (born April 10, 1993), known professionally as Sofia Carson, is an American actress and singer. Her first appearance on television was as a guest star on the Disney Channel series '' Austin & Ally''. In 2015, she received ...

Enrico Colantoni Enrico Colantoni (born February 14, 1963) is a Canadian actor and director, best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom ''Just Shoot Me!'', Keith Mars on the television series ''Veronica Mars'', Louis Lutz on the short-lived sitcom ''H ...

and

Wolfgang Novogratz Wolfgang Frances Novogratz (born May 9, 1997) is an American actor and model. He has appeared in the Netflix films ''Sierra Burgess Is a Loser'' (2018), '' The Last Summer'' (2019), ''The Half of It'' (2020) and ''Feel the Beat'' (2020). He al ...

Plot

April Dibrina, a young dancer seeking success on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, steals a cab from an old lady during a rainstorm to get to an audition. She performs well, but sponsor Ruth Zimmer, meets the potential dancers. When she recognizes April (from the taxi incident), she vows that no one on Broadway will hire her. While trying to explain, she accidentally knocks Ruth off stage, inflicting serious injury. It is posted on social media, publicly embarrassing April. Evicted, April returns to her hometown in Wisconsin. While at the grocery store, she bumps into the New Hope dance teacher Miss Barb, who invites her to come to the dance studio. April also sees her ex Nick, whom she left to pursue a career in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In the dance studio, she visits the class of dancers: Lucia, a forgetful girl with glasses; Oona, a nervous girl; Kari, who secretly earns her own classes; Ruby, with no self-confidence; Zuzu, a deaf girl; Sarah, Nick’s stubborn little sister; and June and Michelle, the youngest. Zuzu’s little brother, Dicky, also watches. Barb asks April to coach the town's dance team for a competition. At first, she declines, but later realizes it can give her a chance to perform in front of Welly Wong, saving her career. April accepts, beginning a harsh training regimen that alienates the young dancers, including causing Ruby to quit. The New Hope dance team advances through several rounds of the competition; they improve as April bonds with them, becoming a better teacher, including learning some

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

to communicate with Zuzu. One day, the dance studio ceiling collapses after April tells the dancers they "don't suck," so they know they are improving. Unable to afford repairs to the studio, the team moves practice to the football field and eventually move to April's father's barn, which Nick has helped repair. April and Nick begin to rekindle their relationship as the dance team advances to state. Dancers from another troupe taunt her about her failure in New York, causing her to lose focus during one dance, though she recovers. In the mini’s 6-and-under category, the two youngest dancers, June and Michelle, are struck with stage fright. Dicky, who has memorized all the girl's choreography while they practiced, runs out and starts to dance. June and Michelle recover, and they all dance together. Dicky now trains with the dance troupe. After passing state finals, April calls her NYC friend Deco to help make costumes. One day, as the small dancers are rehearsing a lift in the barn, April calls on Sarah and R.J., the football player whom Sarah has a crush and she wants to impress, to demonstrate. When R.J. lifts her, her silicone bra cup falls on the floor, and she runs off, embarrassed and crying. April finds her in the field and comforts her. The dancers' families raise the money to send the team to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

for the finals. April reconnects with Nick's younger sister Sarah, who had felt abandoned when her mother died and April moved to New York. Once in Atlantic City, after a performance, Welly Wong is so impressed with April he offers her the lead in his new show on the spot. April and Welly leave the competition immediately for rehearsal in NYC, devastating the team. The next day, April realizes her mistake and abandons the rehearsal, proclaiming to Welly that she must honor her commitment to New Hope. She calls Deco again to drive her back to Atlantic City just in time to encourage the team before the performance. After reconciling with her dancers, April and Nick kiss, and Welly keeps her on despite leaving rehearsal. April performs in Welly Wong's show in NYC and continues teaching her dance class in Wisconsin via video chat. On opening night, Welly surprises April by bringing the New Hope team over for a dance party. Everyone dances in the street, and Ruth Zimmer drives by momentarily, appalled.

Cast

Release

''Feel the Beat'' was released on June 19, 2020.

Reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of .

Soundtrack

#"Let's Do It" - All Talk #"Work Dat (So Dat)" - Kylie Diehl #"Hand of Man" - Country Joe & The Fish #"Round and Round" - Jack Hawitt #"Brand New Day" - Kari Kimmel #"Never Forgive You" - Brooke Villanyi #"Wish You Was Me" - Lauren Evans #"Glitter Shoes" - Blaire Reinhard #"Confident" - Demi Lovato #"Us" - Regina Spektor #"Deal With It" - Girli #"Pumpin Blood" - NoNoNo #"Yes or Yes" - Tricia Battani #"I'm Gonna Do My Thing (Hey Hey)" - Mozella #"Like That" - Fleur East #"Colors" - Wayfarers #"Follow the Leader" - Wayfarers #"Winner Won't Stop" - Neara Russell #"Always" (Acoustic) - Francois Klark #"A Little More" - Alessia Cara #"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" - C+C Music Factory #"All I Wanna Do Is Dance" - Mozella #"Always" - Sofia Carson

References

External links

* * {{Netflix title 2020 films American comedy-drama films American dance films Films about dance competitions Films about deaf people Films set in Atlantic City, New Jersey Films set in New York City Films set in Wisconsin Films shot in Toronto English-language Netflix original films Films scored by Michael Yezerski 2020s English-language films Films directed by Elissa Down 2020s American films Films about disability