Canadian screenwriter Annmarie Morais draws upon her youth as a Jamaican immigrant to create Raya (Rutina Wesley), a teen determined to escape the projects. The cost of treatment to save her junkie sister—she overdosed before the opening scene—means that Raya must quit prep school and come home to her hardworking Jamaican parents. Back at public school, all she can do is prepare for a scholarship exam—and get ready for the big step-dancing competition with a $50,000 prize. Director Ian Iqbal Rashid handles the teen-team-triumph genre here far better than he dealt with romantic comedy in his earlier “Touch of Pink.” There, gay immigrants came out. A wedding went awry. Screen idol Cary Grant presided courtesy of a magical realist gimmick. “How She Move” is grittily grounded in mean streets, and soars with dazzling, syncopated, percussive dance numbers choreographed by Hi-Hat. Raya’s maneuvers between dance squads to optimize her prospects, which adds welcome heft to the plot. There’s no doubt that rivals, sweethearts, top dogs and underdogs will sort it all out, but strong performances earn this formulaic drama its upbeat pay-off. It hardly matters that the cast cannot pass as high schoolers. With Dwain Murphy, Ingrid Gaynor, Tre Armstrong, Brennan Gademans, Keyshia Cole and DeRay Davis. 91m. (Bill Stamets)
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