Informative Essay on Save the Last Dance and Step Up Essay Example for Free

Informative Essay on Save the Last Dance and Step Up Essay Informative Essay on Step Up and Save the Last Dance The two movies, Step Up and Save the Last Dance, have many things in contrast and in comparison to the other. In Step up, a girl named Sarah Johnson, a promising dancer in high school hoping to be admitted to study at Julliard School. She fails the audition and soon thereafter learns that her mother has been involved in a fatal car accident trying to get to her audition. After her mother’s death, Sara is wracked by built and gives up on ballet. She moves in with her father whom she doesn’t know well, transferring to an urban Chicago school. At her new school she finds that she is one of a handful of white people but quickly friendship flames up between her and a single mom named Chenille. Chenille invites Sara to a dance club called Stepps where she experiences dancing to hip-hop for the first time. While at Stepps, Sara meets Derek, Chenille’s brother and a student with dreams of attending Georgetown Medical School. Upon meeting and seeing each other at school, Derek decides to help Sara develop her dancing skills by incorporating more hip-hip into her ballet style. As they become closer, Derek takes her to a ballet and afterwards Sara confides in him about her mother and her dreams she tossed away. After, Derek convinces her that she needs to do what she wants and follow her dreams of Julliard. Sara auditions for Julliard for the second time, Derek arriving at a crucial point to offer encouragement and support. Sara was finally accepted into Julliard, and to celebrate Sara’s successful audition, they go dancing at the club Stepps. In Save the Last Dance, Tyler Gage was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for breaking into and vandalizing Maryland School of Arts. His community service is to be served at the school and notices as he peers into a dance class a girl named Nora Clark, whom was preparing for her â€Å"senior showcase,† an audition which could determine whether or not she is offered a job with any one of the professional dance companies. When friends of Tyler visit him on the school’s lot, Nora curiously watches from a window as Tyler incorporated a mix of break-dancing and ballet moves he recently observed while watching her. Nora finds herself unexpectedly without a partner for her routine when her partner sprains his ankle during a dance practice. She  held some auditions but decides that no one at her school meet her expectations. Tyler offered to be her partner, but Nora initially refuses. But Tyler proves that he can handle her requests by effortlessly catching and lifting her in a leap, quickly reconsidering his offer to help. Nora convinces the director of the school to allow him to rehearse with her and as they continue with rehearse; they teach each other their styles of dance and become closer to one another. When Nora takes Tyler to a special spot of hers, she reveals to him of how she envisioned her routine and becomes inspired to help her dream come true. He started with recruiting younger dancers for her routine while trying to balance his new goals, his new friends and rekindling the friendships with his old friends. Tyler decides he wants to attend Maryland and speaks with the director about this when Nora suggests that the showcase could be used as his entrance audition. The director agrees to this and advises that this could prove that he deserves a chance. Nora and Tyler move forward with their relationship and rehearsals continue as normal until Noraâ⠂¬â„¢s former dance partner returns seemingly healed from his injury. Tyler, feeling no longer needed, leaves the group and thus returns to the janitorial community services he was sentenced to. Nora continued to incorporate many of Tyler’s suggestions for the routine but finds the new choreography is much too difficult for her previous dance partner. Her partner resigns himself from the routine whilst Nora is once again left without a partner. Nora considers abandoning her dance career, but transforms her choreography into a solo piece when she received support and encouragement from her mother who used to be opposed of her future in dance. Tyler realizes after becoming reacquainted with his old friends that he needs to make better choices in his life when his friend was fatally shot after stealing a car. Tyler showed up at Nora’s showcase last minute and tries to persuade Nora to let him perform with her and to forgive him for his actions. She declined but changes her mind as Tyler wishes her good luck and walks away. After their performance, a director from a professional dance company spoke to Nora about signing her on with them and the director from the school told Tyler he is now a â€Å"transfer student† at Maryland. To be clear with the comparisons and contrasts, Sara was a student who knew only ballet and was taught hip-hop by her boyfriend, Derek. Tyler was a  hip-hop break-dancer who was taught ballet by his girlfriend, Nora. Sara threw away her dreams of going to Julliard due to her mother passing while trying to go to her first audition. Tyler threw away his dream of going to Maryland when Nora decided to use her former dance partner for her showcase. As both sets of main characters incorporate their dance styles together, both sets grew closer to their partner and ended up being in a relationship. Derek convinces Sara to reconsider her dream of Julliard, continue with what makes her happy and re-audition for Julliard. Nora convinced Tyler to use her showcase as his entrance audition, convincing the director of the school as well. Both movies also have surprise visits to emotionally support their partners during a stressful and hard event. Tyler showed up at Nora’s showcase last minute as well as Derek at Sara’s audition. Tyler got into Maryland, Nora became a professional dancer, Derek got into Medical School and Sara got into Julliard. They all accomplished their dream. But in contrast, they both started out dancing a different style before learning to mix it up with another. Tyler first only knew break-dancing and learned ballet. Sara only knew ballet and learned hip-hop. They both started with two different styles. Tyler, the main character in Step Up, was trying to get into Maryland High School as Sara was trying to get into Julliard, a college that’s also difficult to get into. Tyler doesn’t have trouble fitting in at the school while he’s supposed to be there for community service, he fits right in when his dance talents are brought to light. Sara didn’t fit in at her new school and didn’t end up fitting in even in the end of the movie, she just had her few friend s and was happy with that even though she was still considered the oddball of the school for being one of the few white people there. There may be a few more comparisons than contrasts, but I love the movies so much I had trouble pointing out every contrast and unknowingly sought out the comparisons over the contrasts. If there’s a person that has never watched these two movies I would highly recommend them!