Dance in Film · 2016
High Strung (2016)
A hip-hop violinist from the streets and a classically trained dancer from an elite conservatory form an unlikely partnership to compete for a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship.
High Strung is a 2016 dance feature film centred on Blues & Slow Social Dance, Hip-Hop & Street Dance, Ballet. For dancers, it's a chance to see these styles performed on screen — the phrasing, partnering, and musicality that the same dances carry onto a real floor.
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Dance styles featured
Where to watch: Streaming (various)
The dance sequences in High Strung
23 sequences, 11 with a timestamp — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
Danced by Ian Eastwood; Comfort Fedoke; SwitchSteps ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
The crew members introducing themselves one burst of movement at a time.
Each SwitchStep gets called out by name—Rik, Jett, Ollie, PopTart, Krispy, Tiptoe and Jaxson—turning a cramped apartment preview into a roll call in motion. Johnnie’s bemused reaction makes their stop-start freestyling function as both crew introduction and neighborly initiation.
Watch this sequence · This sequence is on YouTube as a standalone clip. Official film-channel SwitchSteps clip; feature timestamp aligned to the named 96-minute Blu-ray reference.
- 00:16:23
Conservatory students’ club dance
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Sonoya Mizuno; Manhattan Conservatory student ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Jazzy coaxing the guarded Ruby into the club crowd.
Jazzy pulls Ruby onto the floor with “Come on, let’s dance,” and the scholarship students briefly shed classroom posture for a crowded night out. Ruby’s controlled ballet carriage sits visibly against Jazzy’s social ease, making the party a first test of movement without a teacher’s counts.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Anabel Kutay; Manhattan Conservatory ballet ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Ruby looking completely at home in ballet before contemporary class exposes her limits.
Kramrovsky’s clipped counts and corrections frame Ruby as immediately legible in turnout, line and pointe work—the technical home she will later have to leave. April’s proximity turns even a basic class combination into silent competition.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Sonoya Mizuno; Anabel Kutay; Manhattan Conservatory student ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
The conservatory women climbing onto the pub stage and Jazzy meeting Paolo.
Jazzy drags Ruby and the other conservatory women onto Killarney’s tiny stage, where the dancers answer the live pub band with cheeky, direct phrasing rather than academy formality. Paolo entering Jazzy’s space at the end turns a friendly student takeover into the start of her risky distraction.
Watch this sequence · This sequence is on YouTube as a standalone clip. Official 55-second film-channel scene clip; feature timestamp aligned to the named 96-minute Blu-ray reference.
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Sonoya Mizuno; Paul Freeman; Manhattan Conservatory ballet ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Jazzy trying to hide her exhaustion while Kramrovsky keeps the class moving.
After the late night, Jazzy stumbles into Kramrovsky’s morning class while Ruby works through breath, stretch and long ballet lines. Their whispered argument about Paolo rides beneath the combination, letting the disciplined studio work expose the widening gap between them.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
- 00:48:17
Ruby and Johnnie’s gala tango
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Nicholas Galitzine · Choreography Dave Scott
Johnnie surprising Ruby with the tango his grandmother taught him.
Johnnie first spins an older patron through the fundraiser, then offers Ruby his hand and reveals that his grandmother taught him tango. Ruby’s extended leg lines meet his unexpectedly grounded lead, turning their apology into public intimacy before Kyle interrupts.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
- 00:53:57
Ruby begins to unlock contemporary movement
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Jane Seymour; Manhattan Conservatory contemporary ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Oksana quietly acknowledging Ruby after the turn-and-dip phrase.
Oksana drills the commands toe, up, turn and dip while Ruby finally moves through the phrase without stopping, and the teacher singles her out as very good. The short class passage registers progress through the exact vocabulary that defeated Ruby earlier.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Paul Freeman · Choreography Dave Scott
Ruby releasing the gypsy variation after Kramrovsky tells her to stop trying to dance.
Kramrovsky strips away Ruby’s square placement and asks for a proud gypsy rather than a perfect student; the breakthrough comes after the developpé, plié and repeated restart. Keenan Kampa makes character arrive through the classical line itself, culminating in Kramrovsky’s quiet recognition that the variation is finally good.
Watch this sequence · This sequence is on YouTube as a standalone clip. Official 71-second film-channel clip “Ruby’s Solo Weightless”; feature timestamp aligned to the named 96-minute Blu-ray reference.
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Nicholas Galitzine · Choreography Dave Scott
Ruby dancing alone to Johnnie’s violin before their first kiss.
In the loft, Johnnie plays the loaner violin while Ruby tests movement against his phrasing, turning a practical competition proposal into their first private duet. The dance ends before dialogue resumes, so his admission that he likes playing for her lands as a response to the way her body has already listened.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
- 01:05:51
Ballet–hip-hop competition rehearsal montage
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Nicholas Galitzine; SwitchSteps ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Ruby correcting the crew’s feet while they tell her to drop her weight into the hip.
Ruby orders pointed toes, SwitchSteps tell her to sink into the hip, and Johnnie experiments with a heavier bass drum beneath his violin composition. The montage works because the styles resist one another onscreen: ballet line is corrected from one side and street weight from the other until both begin to change.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
- 01:22:31
“Fortando” final competition fusion
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Nicholas Galitzine; SwitchSteps ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Ruby re-emerging as Kramrovsky’s “gypsy” inside the SwitchSteps’ final formation.
Johnnie begins “Fortando” with Ruby and the SwitchSteps hidden, then the stage reveals ballet lines threading through street formations as the original violin score thickens. Ruby’s return to Kramrovsky’s proud gypsy variation near the end answers his earlier correction, while the crew’s weight and attack keep the finale from collapsing into a conventional recital.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Contemporary class before the scholarship review
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Sonoya Mizuno; Anabel Kutay; Jane Seymour; Manhattan Conservatory contemporary ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Oksana stopping the combination to ask what is going on with Ruby and Jazzy.
Oksana calls for hips, short lines and sharper attacks while Ruby keeps reverting to ballet scale and shape. April’s crisp response and Jazzy’s late arrival make the room a tribunal, leading directly to Ruby’s review and Jazzy’s last warning.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Final violin-and-dance competition
Fusion DanceDanced by Keenan Kampa; Nicholas Galitzine; SwitchSteps crew; ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Live violin, ballet line and hip-hop formations are braided around shared accents rather than shown in separate blocks.
The camera expands and contracts with the number, moving from architectural wides to selective details at musical turning points. Scale, costume and formation changes amplify the choreography instead of replacing it, so the spectacle remains anchored in dancing bodies.
First contemporary-class breakdown
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Jane Seymour; Manhattan Conservatory contemporary ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Oksana forcing Ruby back up after she crumples out of the combination.
Ruby collapses in the combination while Oksana orders her back into the phrase, a blunt contrast with her secure ballet placement minutes earlier. The failure is carried by Ruby’s body tightening under the command to dance, making perfectionism look like a physical block rather than an abstract character trait.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Gala dance intervention
New Style Hip-HopDanced by SwitchSteps crew; Dave Scott; gala ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Formal architecture and street attack collide as the crew redirects the room's attention through unison and level changes.
The sequence gains force by cutting between sharply different movement textures while keeping each style visually legible. That contrast turns technique into character: posture, groove and use of space communicate the conflict before dialogue can explain it.
Gala violin duel and SwitchSteps intervention
New Style Hip-HopDanced by Nicholas Galitzine; Richard Southgate; SwitchSteps ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
SwitchSteps turning a black-tie violin challenge into a security-clearing dance riot.
Kyle and Johnnie turn the fundraiser into a violin duel, but the SwitchSteps break the room’s hierarchy by borrowing serving props and cutting through tuxedos with street phrasing. The payoff is the crew’s exit line—“We’re street dancers”—after security arrives, a joke that lands because their dance has already wrecked the gala’s polished etiquette.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Jazzy returns to dance class
Danced by Sonoya Mizuno; Anabel Kutay; Manhattan Conservatory contemporary ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Jazzy’s defiant return to the studio after nearly throwing away her scholarship.
Jazzy walks back into class after Ruby’s ultimatum and immediately has to dance beside April, who mocks her absence. The class becomes a recovery beat rather than exposition: Jazzy answers the threat to her scholarship by putting her body back in the room.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Kyle and April’s competition entry
Classical BalletDanced by Richard Southgate; Anabel Kutay; guest Joffrey dancers · Choreography Dave Scott
The judges’ approval of Kyle and April’s classical entry just before Johnnie arrives.
Kyle and April present the competition’s polished alternative: classical violin aligned with an academy-trained ensemble and guest Joffrey dancers. Their clean finish earns “beautiful” and “impressive” from the judges, setting the formal benchmark that Johnnie and Ruby’s hybrid entry must violate.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Oksana’s contemporary combinations class
Danced by Keenan Kampa; Anabel Kutay; Jane Seymour; Manhattan Conservatory contemporary ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
April hitting the line that Oksana has just rejected from Ruby.
Oksana calls out Ruby’s late timing, too-small slide and missed line while April lands the same combination cleanly. The repeated public corrections make the class more than practice: every eight-count becomes evidence in Ruby’s scholarship review.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Opening New York dance mosaic
Danced by Keenan Kampa; SwitchSteps ensemble; Manhattan Conservatory dance ensemble · Choreography Dave Scott
Ballet, tap and street dancers sharing the film’s first rush through New York.
The opening joins Ruby’s first conservatory steps to SwitchSteps street movement and tap accents, announcing the film’s ballet/hip-hop/tap range before the characters meet. Johnnie’s violin provides the musical bridge, foreshadowing the mixed-language competition number.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
Ruby's ballet solo
Classical BalletDanced by Keenan Kampa · Choreography Dave Scott
A clean studio/stage frame gives Kampa's line, pointe work and musical phrasing uninterrupted authority.
The camera favors sustained, full-body framing, preserving the phrasing and the relationship between the dancers and the floor. The movement is allowed to build through complete musical ideas, so the payoff comes from performance rather than editorial camouflage.
Subway dance showdown
Breaking (B-Boying / B-Girling)Danced by SwitchSteps crew; subway dance crew · Choreography Dave Scott
Low angles and crossing trains amplify the battle, but circles remain wide enough to show power-move entries and exits.
Tracking shots and rhythmic cutting borrow energy from the dancers while repeatedly returning to frames that show complete actions. The choreography answers accents with changes of level, direction and texture, making the scene feel driven by the music rather than pasted onto it.
Subway showdown: Werk Crew vs. Reapers
Breaking (B-Boying / B-Girling)Danced by Werk Crew; Reapers; Keenan Kampa; Nicholas Galitzine · Choreography Dave Scott
Ruby hitting the platform while Johnnie’s violin disappears in the commotion.
Werk Crew and the Reapers convert the station into a ring, throwing floorwork and freezes around Johnnie’s busking spot until Ruby is knocked down. Johnnie’s split-second choice to help her instead of guard the violin makes the battle’s peak the precise cause of the theft.
Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. 96-minute Blu-ray timing reference; commercial editions may vary. U.S. Apple TV rental/buy listing verified 2026-08-04.
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