Emily Anderson in Step Up Revolution: Who She Is and Who Plays Her

Emily Anderson is the female lead of Step Up Revolution (2012), the fourth film in the saga by release order, and she is played by Kathryn McCormick, who is top billed in the credits. She arrives in Miami as a newcomer who wants to become a professional dancer and is preparing to audition for a respected dance company.

Her path crosses with Sean Asa (Ryan Guzman), who works as a hotel waiter by day and leads The Mob, a crew that stages flash mob performances around the city and posts them online to win views and a cash prize. Sean pushes Emily to dance more freely, and she ends up joining the crew. If you came here wondering who played Emily in Step Up Revolution, the answer is Kathryn McCormick, and the same credits list Peter Gallagher as her father, Bill Anderson.

The secret she carries is the heart of her character. Her father is a powerful real estate developer, and she keeps that from the friends who take her in. For readers who searched for her as Emily in Step Up 4, it is the same person: Step Up Revolution is the fourth film in release order, and the credits use the single name Emily Anderson.

The film is rated PG-13 in the US, 12 in the UK and PG in Australia. It runs 99 minutes. You can place it among the other films on our step up movies in order guide.

Emily's closest bond is with Sean Asa, and the film also tests her ties to Eddy and to her father. Emily and Sean are the romantic pair of the story, and their relationship is built on dance first: he pushes her to dance more freely, and she joins the crew.

So, why did Sean and Emily break up in Step Up? The split comes from her secret, not from any loss of feeling. Once Eddy exposes her as the developer's daughter, the fight and Sean's arrest push them apart, and Emily feels she has lost her friends. They get back together after the protest dance, when the plan to clear the neighborhood is dropped.

Eddy (Misha Gabriel) is the friend who reacts most sharply, because he is the one who finds out who her father is and exposes her. Bill Anderson (Peter Gallagher) is the other key relationship. He is not a cartoon villain, since he changes course once he sees his daughter dancing with the crew. Other members of The Mob include Jason Hardlerson (Stephen 'tWitch' Boss) and DJ Penelope (Cleopatra Coleman).

For more on the man she falls for, see our profile of sean step up. Another strong female lead in the saga is covered at andie step up.

In my opinion, Emily's best moments are the ones where she is pushed to dance more freely, and the film is at its strongest when it lets her change rather than just react. Her early scenes with Sean work because she is a newcomer being drawn into a crew with a very different style, and McCormick plays that hesitation with real physical clarity.

The bombed audition is the quiet centerpiece. After the exposure and the fight, she is dancing for the company she wanted all along, and the performance falls apart. It is a smart choice for a series that usually rewards its leads with a winning routine, because it shows what the dream costs her once she has lost her friends.

The protest at the development announcement is the big set piece, and it is the reason her arc pays off. It could be argued that the dance does more to change her father's mind than any speech could, since the film shows Bill Anderson watching his daughter look happy. Compared with the earlier films, such as the school showcase finale of step up 2006, the stakes here are civic rather than personal, and Emily sits at the middle of both.

If you want more dance highlights from across the saga, our best step up dance scenes page picks the standouts, and step up dance crews puts The Mob in context.