Black and White conflict
Really? Did people still behave like this in 2001? Racism, slavery, discrimination etc had been part of the history just as every one knows, but people (teenagers in particular) cared so much about the 'forbidden love' between black and white? They should have come from the era of Romeo & Juliet. I can't recall anything about people treated me differently where I was hanging out with non-Chinese in my place back at that time. (Or maybe I was just lucky? Grateful to be in such a nice place.
Fusion dance
Crossing over two dances that have contradicting characters was an intrigue. It had been nice to see people merge them into one perfect dance, and one should feel the passion in the audition dance. Of course, if Derek hadn't been run up the stage and yelled, it would be nicer- he was really embarrassing.
Comparing to...
1. However pleasant the dance was, my favourite fusion dance scene on screen has been in Take the Lead.
2. Despite the non-surprising plot, it is still better than Step Up 1- people here have dreams and they work hard to make it come true. I think this is what our post-90s need to learn.