5,6,7,8

Gr 6 Up—Just as Dance Moms begins a second season on Cable TV, this film offers a similar tale of middle and high school girls who aspire to be stars. Focusing on a small dance instruction studio in upstate New York where families line up out the door on registration day, this documentary, through a series of interviews, shows the struggles the owner and her students face every day. One student's family thinks she should go to church instead of Sunday morning dance class; other students show up exhausted and ill-prepared for class after a weekend of SAT prep and other commitments, much to owner/instructor Jennifer Dell's chagrin. Despite being geographically close to Broadway, a mere hour north of Times Square, many of these young girls wonder if they have the talent to make it out of their suburban enclave. Dell supports her students unconditionally and even welcomes them into her home at the end of the year for a party. Aside from Dell, most of the children and adults profiled are not particularly remarkable or memorable, and the film will have limited appeal for general audiences.—Bernie Morrissey, The Harker School, San Jose, CA