Save the Last Dance

Sara Johnson has trained in ballet since childhood and hopes to study at Juilliard, but her mother's death ends that plan and sends her to Chicago's South Side to live with Roy, a musician and father she barely knows. At her new high school she is one of the few white students, and the cultural distance leaves her isolated until she befriends Chenille Reynolds and meets her brother Derek. Derek, a strong student with ambitions of his own, is a leading figure in the local hip-hop scene, and he introduces Sara to a style of dance built on different rhythms than the classical technique she knows. As she learns hip-hop and rediscovers her love of ballet, the two grow close, though their relationship draws opposition from those around them.

Thomas Carter directed the film, the third of seven features he made between 1993 and 2014, from a screenplay by Duane Adler and Cheryl Edwards. Julia Stiles plays Sara, with Sean Patrick Thomas as Derek, Kerry Washington as Chenille, Fredro Starr as Malakai, and Terry Kinney as Roy.

Released in January 2001, the film cost about 13 million dollars and returned roughly 132 million worldwide, a strong result for a modest production. On IMDb it holds 6.2 out of 10 from about 69,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 6.6 from a much smaller base. A critics' rating of 5.9 from 98 reviews places it slightly below the audience scores.