Zoe Saldana and Center Stage Cast Reuniting to Benefit American Ballet Theatre's Crisis Relief Fund
Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection The cast of Center Stage
Center Stage is back — and reuniting for a great cause!
Zoe Saldana, Amanda Schull, Sascha Radetsky and Ethan Stiefel are coming together for a virtual fundraiser in support of the American Ballet Theatre's Crisis Relief Fund on September 1.
The fund provides aid for dancers, production crews, musicians, ballet staff and faculty impacted by canceled engagements amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The reunion will stream on the American Ballet Theatre and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment YouTube channels at 7:30 p.m. EST and audiences will be able to donate online to the ABT Crisis Relief Fund.
The movie told the story of a group of first-year ballet students as they compete against each other for spots at a prestigious ballet company.
RELATED: Center Stage Turns 20! Here Are the Best Moments from the Iconic Dance Movie
Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett
The film celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year. Schull, who landed the lead role of Jody, was a student at the San Francisco Ballet School when she was scouted by a casting director.
"I didn't have film acting experience — it was my first film job ever," Schull told Entertainment Weekly in May. "So I could relate to [Jody] more than if I was playing a boxer or something. I was in the right place at the right time when I got cast to be Jody Sawyer."
As for what she loves most about having worked on the film, Schull said it was the impact it had on male dancers.
"What genuinely brings tears to my eyes is I’ve had a number of male dancers approach me and say, 'I showed my parents that movie and that’s when they understood why I love to dance,'" she told Vulture. "And that is something I could never have anticipated."
The American Ballet Theatre Crisis Relief Fund streams on September 1 at 7:30 p.m. EST.
