Like many other dance movies, Step 2 The Streets begins with a death in the family of the main character. In a voiceover, Andie (Briana Evigan) tells us that when she was 16, her mom died of cancer. She talks about how she always wanted to be a dancer and how her mother always encouraged her in that dream. She remembers the words her mom said to her not long before her diagnosis: “Don’t give up. Just be you,” her mother said. “Because life’s too short to be anyone else.” And with that message at its head, the movie begins.

In many ways, Step Up 2 is like every other dance movie. At its center is a young woman trying to make her way as a dancer. In her past is a tragedy that haunts her. In her present is a male dancer who is both an annoyance and a romantic interest. In the future lies a performance in which she will either prove her place as a dancer or not. And somewhere in the mix of things is a conflict between “proper” dance and the kind of dance she likes.

But the thing that is different about Step Up 2 is that instead of telling a story that is essentially just about Andie and her partner, Step Up 2 is truly more of a group performance than a solo or a duet. And instead of just bringing a bit of “the streets” to the institution, Andie and her crew show the streets and the institution that anybody can be a part of both.

When Andie first arrives at Maryland School of the Arts (MSA), she is clearly a fish out of water. She doesn’t dance the way they want her to dance, and she doesn’t particularly care about learning. But when the 410, Andie’s longtime dance crew, kicks her off and she is left on her own, she quickly sees that she’s far from the only one who doesn’t fit the perfect MSA image.

There’s Moose, the goofy lighting design student who has a hidden talent for dance; Monster, the theater department’s stunt man who never gets credit where credit is due; Hair, the tap dancer with too much of an improvisational flair; Smiles, the dancer with too many smiles and too much free spirit; Jenny Kido, the exchange student with a style all her own but too little English to be taken seriously; Cable, the tech wiz with moves no one has ever seen; Fly, the shy tall girl just waiting to come out of her shell; and of course, Chase (Robert Hoffman), the handsome son of the school’s most generous donors who is tired of just dancing the same steps day after day after day.

And so with nothing to lose, Andie starts her own crew and they begin practicing to compete in a dance competition known as “The Streets.” Every day as they practice, we watch them shine individually and grow together. In each of their eyes, we see a sense that they belong and so does every one of their moves. But when Andie’s old crew learns of her new crew in the making, the problem becomes that not only are they not wanted at MSA, they are not wanted on the streets either. And although they overcome an initial disgrace and continue on, when threats by both MSA and the 410 put Andie and her team at risk on the streets and at school, Andie calls it off.

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