Jenna Dewan is persuasive when movement gives her something to say. In Step Up, her responsive dancing with Channing Tatum makes a crowded romance worth some patience, though the script keeps finding reasons to interrupt.
Fi1m perspective
In Step Up (2006), Jenna Dewan’s Nora Clark dances with Channing Tatum as though his next move matters to her. Each performer gives the other something to respond to, and the attraction looks unforced. We warmed to them because neither seemed to be doing all the work. Dewan’s strongest quality here is her attention to a partner: she helps make the dancing feel like two people getting to know one another. It is a good reason to stay with a film whose dialogue supplies fewer of them.
Director Anne Fletcher gives that partnership room to work, but the crowded, predictable story repeatedly gets in its way. The film is likeable when Dewan and Tatum dance and laborious when the script takes over. Their chemistry cannot make every announced problem interesting. We rate what Dewan contributes more highly than the film around her, while stopping short of claiming that she rescues it.
There was already a horror lead in Tamara (2005) before the breakthrough of Step Up. The later work spread into television, including American Horror Story: Asylum (2012), Witches of East End (2013) and Lucy Lane in Supergirl (2015). Her arrival as Bailey Nune in The Rookie in 2021, followed by a move from recurring player to series regular, marks a more settled place in an ensemble. That is a substantial move beyond dance-led roles, though we would still start with Nora when explaining what she brings to a scene.
Joshua Safran’s Soundtrack (2019) returned her to dancing within an acting role, a useful reminder that the two skills can serve each other. In Step Up, the dancing is where we believe in the pair, and Dewan deserves credit for making that connection convincing. We would welcome another part built around that responsiveness, with dialogue that gives her as much help as the choreography. For an introduction, choose Step Up for the dancing and be prepared to forgive what happens between the numbers.
Biography
Jenna Dewan is an American actress and dancer. Born on 3 December 1980 in Hartford, Connecticut, she began her career as a backup dancer for artists including Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Pink and Missy Elliott. She attended the University of Southern California before leaving to tour with Jackson.
Dewan is known for her role as Nora Clark in the 2006 film Step Up. She has appeared in recurring roles on series including American Horror Story (2012), Supergirl (2015–2016) and The Resident (2018–). Since 2018 she has played Bailey Nune on the ABC series The Rookie. She has also hosted reality shows including World of Dance.
