How She Move (12A)

(Paramount Vantage)

Yet another aspirational dance movie, this time from Canada, which compensates for the paltriness of its script through the verve of its cast.

Rutina Wesley plays bright high-school student Raya, returning to the crime-ridden neighbourhood where her junkie sister has recently died. Steered by a mother ambitious for her academic success, Raya is drawn instead to the sexy athleticism of "step" and the possibility of winning a major dance contest. Wesley and co-star Tre Armstrong are especially good, and the step sequences relieve the banality of the plotting.