The Next Step (film)

Stephen Holden of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, writing that "The Next Step might be described as a kind of backstage Dirty Dancing. And although the movie has its awkward, unconvincing moments, this portrait of an aging dancer and freewheeling Lothario named Nick Mendez (Rick Negron), who belongs to the heterosexual minority in a field where most of the men are gay, has a sizzling erotic energy."^[1]

The Austin Chronicle's Marjorie Baumgarten gave the film two out of five stars. She criticized the "clunkiness of the film's dramatic plotting", and the "uneven performances, overly literal visual cues [and] hyperbolic ending." However, Baumgarten had a more positive view of the dance scenes, remarking that "the film's many dance sequences, which in addition to their entertainment value serve the narrative purpose of demonstrating the arduousness of the profession."^[2] AllMovie's Sandra Brennan also gave The Next Step two out of five stars, describing it as "an attempt to revive the dance film."^[3] She added that, "the story may be a chestnut, but the dance scenes are fine."^[3]

• The Next Step at IMDb