Interview with Nicole Muñoz, star of Lifetime’s ‘Center Stage: On Pointe’ | AXS 

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Interview with Nicole Muñoz, star of Lifetime’s ‘Center Stage: On Pointe’

Courtesy of Nicole Muñoz, used with permission.

Courtesy of Lifetime, used with permission. Photo: Ricardo Hubbs

(L to R) Kenny Wormald, Sascha Radetsky, Peter Gallagher, and Sarah-Jane Redmond

(L to R) Barton Cowperthwaite, Nicole Muñoz , Rachele Brooke Smith, and Maude Green

"Center Stage: On Pointe" cast screening party

Eight years ago, Nicole Muñoz played Bella Parker in “Center Stage: Turn It Up.” Bella was the little sister of the hugely successful dancer, Kate Parker (played by Rachele Brooke Smith). This Saturday, June 25 at 8pm ET/PT on Lifetime, Nicole reprises her role as Bella in “Center Stage: On Pointe,” a movie that was written specifically for her.

“That’s what they keep telling me, at least,” the charismatic actor began, still more than a little excited over the whole situation. “What I heard went down was – and remember, I don’t have all the specifics – they were looking for the next project and they weren’t sure what it was going to be. I was shooting another project, so my headshot was up on the studio wall.” Seeing Nicole’s photo reminded them of the magic of “Center Stage 2.” And that’s what fueled the decision to make “Center Stage 3.”

Lifetime was on board with the idea from the start. “When we heard Sony and Laurence Mark wanted to make a third installment of ‘Center Stage,’ it was simply something we had to be involved in,” Meghan Hooper White, VP of Scheduling and Acquisitions for Lifetime told AXS. “The original ‘Center Stage’ truly is the perfect movie. The dance numbers are stunning, the soundtrack is fantastic and you had all the drama of a teen movie. What’s not to love?”

Even though Bella was a role that Nicole had already played, she wasn’t locked into anything that she had done before. “Because this movie was written so long after the last one, there was a lot of room for creativity. In the second movie, Bella’s personality hadn’t really been established yet – she was just a sweet little kid. But now, Bella is a teenager, so I got to pick and choose and kind of create the character from scratch. I just love doing all that research because it makes me feel like a scientist,” she laughed. “You should see me, sometimes I have all these collages up. If someone came into my house and saw them, they might think I was crazy!”

But at some point, something curious happened, the line dividing actor and character blurred. Nicole recalled the moment when she was driving in a car with the film’s director, Director X [Drake’s award winning “Hotline Bling,” Disney Channel’s “Backstage”], and she was talking. Suddenly, he just turned around an said, “You really are Bella, aren’t you?”

Director X confirmed, stating “Nicole is a talented actress who brought a heart to this film that created a beautiful energy to every shoot day. She was dedicated and focused on the dancing as well as the acting and it shines through. We all love Bella because we all love Nicole!”

“Director X is so rad!” Nicole expressed. “He’s really cool. I’m so glad he directed this film because it’s really authentic and he creates such great visuals. He really brought a lot to the dance sequences.”

Although Nicole now considers herself an actor, she did spend a large portion of her life as a competitive dancer.

“I started dancing when I was four… not competitively, obviously,” she clarified with a little laugh. “I was four, so we were doing the ‘now touch your toes’ kind of a thing. But eventually, I became a competitive dancer. A lot of boys and girls do that now, instead of hanging with your friends or doing homework, you’re going to dance classes. It was something that enriched my life, and I was pretty good at it. I really liked to dance, so I kept dancing competitively until I was 18. The only reason I quit was because I started working on ‘Defiance’ (Syfy). I probably could have kept dancing when I was in Toronto, but by that point, I kind of wanted a break from it… so I started boxing.”

“The reason I consider myself an actor and not a dancer is because I haven’t kept up my training as a dancer,” she continued. “If you call yourself a dancer, you should be training all the time. Of course, I upped my training for this movie, but I’m not going to consider myself a dancer because that would cheapen it for all the other real dancers in the movie – they are incredible people who are training all day, every day. Their life is dedicated to it. I have dedicated my life to film and TV. I made that decision when I was 18. Dancing is my hobby and acting is my career.”

One place where Nicole does take her dancing seriously, however, is in her bedroom. The vibrant actress told AXS that she doesn’t sleep that much, so instead, she dances. “The other day, I did a jump and I did a turn, but I missed and I landed on my bed… and I broke it!”

When Nicole is doing her non-competitive, fun, bedroom dancing, she revealed that she has a few favorite tunes that inspire her in different ways. She likes “N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas, “not the cheesy ‘Empire State of Mind’ by Jay-Z.” There’s “Going Back to Cali” by Biggie. “It’s not even one of his better songs, but I love it! It’s just got a really good beat… and the phone call at the beginning is my favorite!” She also likes “Dear Mama” by 2pac and “Little Wing” by Jimi Hendrix. “But for a lyrical dance, that would be ‘Hello’ by Adele because that’s such a simple song to dance to and I think every girl and boy has danced around to that in their bedroom at some point,” she laughed.

Another of Nicole’s favorites is Sara Bareilles’s ‘Gravity.’ “I did a competitive piece to her back in the day,” she recalled. “When I went in for an audition for ‘Center Stage’ – they wanted to see me dance – X and the producer were there, and I thought I was also meeting with the choreographer. But there was no choreographer. X just pulled out his camera and said, ‘Show me what you’ve got.’ So I put that song on, and I improvised for them.”

“Center Stage: On Pointe” is one of those movies that you just get completely lost in. It’s the perfect escape. There’s engaging drama, great music, stunning dance sequences, effortless acting, and an entire cast of intriguing characters that you absolutely love… or love to hate! In “Center Stage: On Pointe,” Nicole Muñoz proves she’s got the skills, the range, and that enviable onscreen sparkle needed to carry a feature-length film.

“This has been a dream project for many of us at Lifetime to work on,” Meghan Hooper White concluded. “‘Center Stage’ has a very passionate and loyal fan base (I personally fall into that). We had the chance to expand upon that and continue the legacy. “Bringing back Peter [Gallagher], Sascha [Radetsky], and Ethan [Stiefel] from the original and Kenny [Wormald] and Nicole from the sequel was critical. In this installment, you’ll find out answers as to what the characters have been up to for the past 10-15 years. Then, you add in the amazing new cast and Director X and you get something that feels familiar to the original, but with its own vibe. Fans of the original (as well as fans of ‘Center Stage: Turn It Up’) and new viewers will love this!”

“Center Stage: On Pointe” premieres on Lifetime this Saturday, June 25th at 8pm ET/PT.

Dance Center Stage Lifetime Director X Nicole Munoz

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