Netflix’s German teen drama, ‘Into the Beat’, starring debutants Alexandra Pfeifer and Yalany Marschner in the lead, encapsulates a journey showcasing a battle between responsibility and passion.
‘Into the beat’ is the story of Katya (played by Pfeifer), a young ballet dancer, who is torn between her respect for her family legacy and her new found passion for hip hop dance. Marlon, played by Marschner, is her partner in crime in this completely new world of street-dancers.
A ballet teacher, Miss Rosebloom (played by actor Helen Schneider), informs some young ballet aspirants, including Katya, that they have just nine weeks left for an audition for a scholarship in the New York Ballet Academy; and that there can be only one winner.
Katya is an obvious favourite given both her parents are successful ballet performers, referred to as the famous ‘Orlows’. She feels intimidated by people drawing parallels between her and her parents and has to bear taunts of her peers who think that she is riding on her their fame.
Further in the plot, her father Victor (played by German actor Trystan Putter of 2011 film ‘Anonymous’ fame), meets with an on-stage accident and is crippled for life. Now the weight of the family legacy is entirely on her shoulders.
One night when she is on the road fighting her overbearing emotions, she meets Feli (played by Ina Geraldine Guy of ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief’ fame), a hip-hop teacher who introduces her to Battle-Land, an after-hours hip hop club. Here she meets Marlon and is challenged by him for a dance. He derides her for being a copycat and inspires her to have her own style.
She starts learning with him and they warm up to each other. Their chemistry is unmistakable. Leading a double life of a ballerina by morning and a hip hop dancer by evening, she tries to balance her existence. However, she is already changing from being a poised ballerina girl always in control to being wild and free in the new fascinating world of street dancers.
When Marlon wants them to audition as a duo for the famous ‘Sonic Tigers’, a serious conflict ensues. From here starts Katya’s journey of self-discovery. Will she throw away her chance at being a ballerina and follow her newly discovered love for hip hop? Or will her love for her father and respect for family legacy win her back into the fold?
‘Into the Beat’ ending explained in detail:
A journey of self-discovery
Marlon reminds Katya to be but herself as she cannot be someone else. She agrees to go for an audition for Tigers. She is in a dilemma whether to talk to her father or not. After much deliberation, she finally tells her father that she wants to pursue her passion for hip-hop and drop ballet. He is enraged and disappointed; and rejects her idea.
She turns rebellious and leaves home to stay with Marlon. Even though she moves out, her mind is conflicted between love for her father, and her love for hip-hop and Marlon. Eventually her guilt takes over, and after a fall-out with Marlon, she goes back home.
The eye-opener
Like a flip side of the coin, Katya’s return doesn’t do her much good as her thoughts wander off to hip-hop and Marlon. She misses her ballet audition too and sets off on a self destructive spree.
Her agony is at its peak when Frau Nemec (German actress Katrin Pollitt of German series ‘Der Dicke’ fame), a nurse hired by Victor, with whom Katya has formed a bond, puts things in perspective for her. She advises her to “catch the goat by its horns and take it where you want.”
This is a moment of reckoning for Katya. She opens her heart to Victor about how hip-hop makes her feel alive. She reminds him of how as a child she was told that dance was like flying. She tells him “only it feels much better.”
‘Into the beat’: The resolution
She and Marlon audition for the ‘Sonic Tigers’ as a duo. The father-daughter conflict gets resolved with the former’s presence at the audition.
He has a change of heart and the duo, with a mix of ballet and hip hop moves, win over the audience.
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