Feel the Beat

April (Sofia Carson) has been dancing since she was a kid back in Wisconsin. As FEEL THE BEAT begins, the now 20-something aspiring dance professional faces eviction from her New York City apartment. Late for an audition she hopes will lead to a job and enough money to pay the rent, she rushes through the rain and steals a cab from an appalled woman. That same woman, a producer, arrives at the audition late, furious over the cab incident, and assures April that she’ll never work in this town again. April, unapologetic but broke, heads home to small-town Wisconsin where her first dance teacher, the warm and welcoming Barb (Donna Lynne Champlin), suggests April teach a class. April turns up her nose at the offer until she learns the kids are heading to a competition being judged by a powerful New York producer who will see April during a teacher-led number on the program. April is critical, dismissive, and impatient with the kids, seemingly oblivious to the way she’s hurting and discouraging them. She also hurt her ex-boyfriend Nick (Wolfgang Novogratz), who she dismissed by text before she left town to seek fame and fortune in New York. Slowly, working with the kids and receiving an infusion of small-town neighborliness grounds April and forces her to connect with people.