Dance With Me

You probably suspect that Dance With Me is nothing but a bunch of dance sequences strung together by the faintest wisps of a plot--in the words of the original title, a film where everyone will just Shut Up and Dance. You surely aren't expecting one of the year's most appealing, charismatic performances, courtesy of singer-turned-actor Chayanne, playing a young Cuban immigrant in Houston, Texas who hooks up with a down-on-her-luck dance instructor (Vanessa L. Williams). The romance is simple stuff, with the pair initially divided by their varying approaches to dance technique and Williams's tough exterior. But it's Chayanne' s presence, most forceful in an exhilarating sequence at a Latin dance club, where even his obviously choreographed "spontaneous" moves manage to convey the pure joy of dance, that supplies the sparks. In fact, he does so many things right that the second half of the film seems terribly wrong-headed when the focus shifts to Williams's attempt to re-ignite her dance career at a Las Vegas competition. If the point was to prove how much more exciting club dancing is than regimented competitive dancing, that point is made and made again for nearly half an hour. Predictable though the story may have been, the first half of Dance With Me was at least energetic; the second half devolves into a tiresome, uninteresting dance flick. Still, Chayanne's initial charm makes this a strong optional purchase. (S. Renshaw)