of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that the film "ends with two big ballet numbers, wonderfully staged and danced, and along the way there are rehearsals and scenes in a Broadway popular dance studio that have a joy and freedom." Meanwhile, Monica Eng of the Chicago Tribune also gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that "In casting for dance talent rather than acting, director Nicolas Hytner may have given up a little dramatic grace, but what he gains in dance footage (that ranges from ballet to jazz to salsa) more than makes up for that." Eng also wrote that "although the film's ending is a little too neat and happy to be realistic, it does leave you with the feeling of young girls taking charge of their lives. In Hollywood films, that's as exotic a dance as you are going to see." Soundtrack The single from the film "I Wanna Be with You" is performed by Mandy Moore. The song became Moore's highest-charting song in the US at number 24, becoming her only top 40 song in the nation. It spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. "I Wanna Be with You" – Mandy Moore "First Kiss" – i5 "Don't Get Lost in the Crowd" – Ashley Ballard "We're Dancing" – P.Y.T. "Friends Forever" – Thunderbugs "Get Used to This" – Cyrena "A Girl Can Dream" – P.Y.T. "Cosmic Girl" – Jamiroquai "Higher Ground" – Red Hot Chili Peppers "Come Baby Come" – Elvis Crespo & Gizelle D'Cole "The Way You Make Me Feel" – Michael Jackson "If I Was the One" – Ruff Endz "Canned Heat" – Jamiroquai "I Wanna Be with You" (Soul Soul Solution Remix) – Mandy Moore Sequels A sequel to the film titled Center Stage: Turn It Up starring Rachele Brooke Smith was first released in cinemas in Australia on October 30, 2008, and debuted in the United States on November 1, 2008, on the Oxygen channel. Another sequel Center Stage: On Pointe premiered on Lifetime on June 25, 2016. The film stars Nicole Muñoz and former Dance Moms star Chloe Lukasiak and features alumni from the first two films mentoring a younger generation of dancers. Television series On May 12, 2020, which was the film's 20th anniversary, it was announced that a follow-up TV series is in development. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson