The horse dancer: a film for the whole family

Hi! I hope you have had a great summer! I don’t know about your place, but here in Crete it’s hot, very hot! And when it’s so hot outside, one wants to relax and find ways to entairntain oneself.

So, I searched for something entertaining, enlightening and age appropriate. And there you go, I found “The Horse Dancer”, which  I enjoyed very much.

Samantha Wick, a promising teen gymnast, is informed that she hasn’t made it to the American Olympic gymnastics team. Her grandmother, a former champion in gymnastics herself, pays for her grand daughter to join a summer camp in Black Water Horse Camp.

Due to her highly competitive nature, the girl faces behavioral issues, which have led her to a life with no friends. She carries those issues to Black Water and soon realises that they can make her life in the camp very hard.

The programme will gradually change her attitude to the better, helping her open up to other people. Yet, apart from a new attitude, she will earn new skills, which are riding and equestrian vaulting.

Having appreciated the value of friendship, solidarity and gratefulness, Samantha will use her new vaulting skills in a joint effort to save the equestrian centre from bankruptcy.

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It is true that “The Horse Dance” is a low-budget film which has received mixed reviews. And if you are looking for impressive effects and fit equine silhouettes, then I suggest that you should look elsewhere. Personally, I appreciated the strong messages that the movie tries to deliver; the value of friendship, the importance of collaboration and the advantages of asking help in times of need are just a few of them. It is a movie that I strongly recommend for a family night in, or, why not, a special evening at the yard after a gymkhana day. So, I would advise you to go for it!

Oops, I forgot to say this small detail; according to the movie, Black Water actually exists!

*The author of Equestrian from Crete, as an Amazon Associate, earns from qualifying purchases.