High Strung Free Dance Parent Guide

When you’re driven to perform, chances are you’re aiming for the bright lights of Broadway. High Strung Free Dance tells the story of three artists chasing fame on the Great White Way.

Choreographer Zander (Thomas Doherty) has smoldering good looks (and a chiseled chest), an upper-class British accent, a firm belief in his own genius, and an apparently brilliant dance show he’s bringing to Broadway. And to make the show a smash hit, he needs to get the casting exactly right.

Charlie (Harry Jarvis) is a brilliant young pianist, living in a lonely artist’s garret – make that a grungy apartment over a Chinese restaurant. (Oops, I got carried away with movie clichés). He’s delivering deli orders on his bike and desperately looking for work as a musician. Then one night, after getting hit by a car, he sees a lovely young woman, and his luck turns…

Barlow (Juliet Doherty) is a beautiful, doe-eyed young dancer who’s making ends meet as a telemarketer while she gets cut from one audition after another. When her roommate disappears, having absconded with three months’ worth of rent, Barlow gets an eviction notice. Desperation makes her bold, and when she’s cut from Zander’s audition, she makes a gutsy attempt to get hired on the show.

I’m not sharing any spoilers when I divulge that the movie turns not just on the success of the production but on Barlow’s decision about which man she prefers. But, honestly, neither choice is worth getting too worked up over. Barlow and Zander manage to produce some on-screen chemistry, but the fact that her professional success relies on maintaining his favor gives the relationship a queasy feeling. And although Charlie gazes at Barlow with earnest, puppy dog eyes, the two seem like a couple of high school students who can’t quite get past the nervous laughter stage. It’s sweet, but awkward. Kind of like the movie itself.

Parents considering High Strung Free Dance for their dance-mad tweens and teens can be reassured by the very mild content issues in the film which boil down to two swear words and some revealing costumes and suggestive dance moves. But, frankly, the biggest issue in this movie is the Barlow-Zander plotline. When Zander offers his employee a ride, when he gives her the lead role and then kisses her, when he has a sexually charged dance with her, he is crossing some critically important lines in a post-#MeToo world. Parents are likely to be disturbed by Zander’s selfish treatment of a vulnerable young woman in his employ.

That being said, parents can be reassured that the relationship between Zander and Barlow doesn’t become abusive or violent. The relationship might have a power differential, but Barlow doesn’t get sexually assaulted and her job isn’t conditional on performing sexual favors. But parents need to know that it isn’t just another High School Musical with bright-faced young performers and catchy tunes - although musical kids will enjoy the show and it might encourage piano students to practice more diligently. The real reason to see the film isn’t for the plot or the dancing; it’s the opportunity it gives parents to discuss relationship boundaries with their daughters…and their sons.