Actor Christine Lakin is turning into a feature film director with I Won't Dance, a coming-of-age rom-com and sports film. The film will see a blue-collar ballroom dancer team up with her arch-nemesis, a rebellious rival, to win the National Teen Dance Championship – and hopefully not kill each other. The shoot for the film is scheduled to happen in the Canary Islands.

Speaking to Deadline, Lakin opened up about the theme of the film. She said, "From ballet classes when I was 3 to competition dance in my early teens, choreographing for theatre in my 20s and then film and television in my 30s, dance has absolutely informed who I am now as a director."

She then elaborated, “The movement of the characters, the innate rhythm of the dialogue—to me, it all looks like choreography, and it sounds like music. I am so excited to capture the movement in I Won’t Dance in a way that brings the audience into the world of competitive ballroom—with a feel as if we are inside the dance itself, feeling the passion, the sweat, the dedication and the athleticism it takes to be a champion in this space.”

Allison Johnson wrote the script, with Sharna Burgess overseeing choreography. The film is produced by a female-led team including Magic & Moxie Productions' Alexandra Olivia Engelson, Shake the Tree Productions' Toni D'Antonio and Samantha Bowen, Love Laugh Dance Films' Allison Johnson, and Mia Cusumano, with Hulahoop Media as an international partner.

Lakin, who has nearly 140 credits as an actor, is popularly known for her performance in the '90s sitcom Step by Step. While this film will mark her feature debut, she has already made a mark as a director by helming 11 episodes of The Goldbergs, an ABC sitcom.