It’s not 100% clear whether the film version of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks will retain the full LGBT themes of the play it’s based on, but with Cheyenne Jackson as one of the co-leads and gay icons such as Rita Moreno in the cast, it’s probably going to be worth a look either way. The trailer certainly makes it seems fun.

Based on the international hit play by Richard Alfieri which has played in 24 countries and in 14 languages, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks is a touching and human, yet madcap comedy about a formidable retired woman, Lily Harrison (Gena Rowlands), who hires an acerbic dance instructor, Michael Minetti (Cheyenne Jackson), to give her private dance lessons – one per week for six weeks – in her gulf-front condo in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.

What begins as an incompatible relationship blossoms into an intimate friendship as these two people from very different backgrounds reveal their secrets, fears, and joys while dancing the Swing, Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha-Cha, and Contemporary Dance. By the final lesson, Lily shares her most closely guarded secret and he shares his greatest gifts, his loyalty and compassion.

In the original play, some of the tension comes from the fact there’s an antagonism between a gay man and the wife of a Southern Baptist minister, although it’s not clear if that follows through in the movie (looking at the trailer there’s a good chance).

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks is a comedy with music and dance about friendship and ageism and also stars Julian Sands, Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver, and Oscar winner Rita Moreno and is directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman.

The movie arrives in select US cinemas on December 12th, 2014. [Read more…]