''One Last Dance'' is a 2003 American-Canadian

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

about three dancers 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 ...

. The film was directed and written by

Lisa Niemi Lisa Niemi Swayze (born May 26, 1956) is an American writer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and director. She is the widow of actor and dancer Patrick Swayze. Early life Lisa Anne Haapaniemi was born in Houston, Texas, the only daughter of s ...

, wife of actor

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

. ''One Last Dance'' starred both Swayze and Niemi, who also jointly produced, alongside

George de la Peña George de la Peña (born December 9, 1955) is an American ballet dancer, musical theatre performer, choreographer, actor, and teacher. He was born in 1955 in New York City, New York. Originally trained as a concert pianist, de la Peña switched t ...

in a major role. It was filmed in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. ''One Last Dance'' was choreographed by

Patsy Swayze Yvonne Helen "Patsy" Swayze ( née Karnes; February 7, 1927 – September 16, 2013) was an American film choreographer, dancer, and dance instructor, and the mother of actor Patrick Swayze. Her credits include choreography for ''Urban Cowboy'' ...

, Niemi's

mother-in-law A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-la ...

and the mother of Patrick Swayze. Niemi, who also wrote the script in addition to directing the film, drew its content from the real-life experiences and struggles of performing artists.

Plot

The story revolves around three dancers who are forced to reconcile their differences and pasts. Travis (Swayze), Chrissa (Niemi), and Max (De La Pena) were three students of master choreographer Alex McGrath, but they had a falling out many years ago over a particularly difficult piece that Alex had choreographed specifically for them. Unexpectedly, McGrath dies. This reunites the three, who agree to attempt the dance piece once more to save his company. In the process, however, they all reopen old emotional wounds that had never properly healed. Travis and Chrissa have a daughter together, Bree. Bree wishes to follow in her mother's footsteps of dancing and even takes any opportunity to steal her mother's Pointe shoes and dance around the house in them, much to her mother's chagrin. It is realized that Max should be the new head of the company. Travis, Chrissa and Max each want to quit for good at some point. But finally all grudgingly follow through and come full-circle as dancers.

References

External links

* * * 2003 films 2003 romantic drama films American dance films American romantic drama films Films directed by Lisa Niemi Films set in New York City Films shot in Winnipeg Films about ballet 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-romantic-drama-film-stub