Ballerina (2008)

Synopsis: In the grand tradition of the Ballet Russes comes Bertrand Normand's portrait of five Russian ballerinas from the Mariinski Theatre, formerly known as the Kirov. Behind any great ballerina lies... In the grand tradition of the Ballet Russes comes Bertrand Normand's portrait of five Russian ballerinas from the Mariinski Theatre, formerly known as the Kirov. Behind any great ballerina lies the discipline and rigour that comes from decades of training and practice; and Russia's pre-eminent dancers -- superstars such as Nijinsky, Baryshnikov and Pavlova -- established the reputation of Russian dancers as the best in the world. The dancers profiled in Ballerina are uniquely individual -- tough, insightful and exceptionally talented; onstage they reveal no hint of the sweat, pain and hard work of the rehearsal studio. From Swan Lake to Romeo and Juliet, from the backstage studio to performing on stages around the world, Ballerina captures the sublime beauty of ballet, in all its resplendent glory.

The classic ballerina exercises an art that is becoming rare, a profession as demanding that it is not well known. She fascinates because her fate seems so fragile. But there is a country where she still shines as resplendently as ever, Russia. Land of absolutes, the cult of beauty, wideness and nostalgia, also the land of a forgotten femininity: Russia is the land of the ballerina par excellence.

Director Bertrand Normand, director and lover of ballet, has for a long while been impressed by the singularity the Russian Ballerinas. He went to St Petersburg looking for what makes these dancers unique. Through his personal research, he has found a new vision of classical ballet, its world and the power it exercises on the audience.

Ballerinais about going through the curtain which separates the audience from the artist on stage. Norman’s quest has taken him to the Mariinski Theatre, formerly called Kirov. This theatre has seen centuries of the world’s finest choreographers and interpreters. There Norman meets Alina, Ulyana, Evgenia, Svetlana and Diana, who are the principal personalities of the film. Women with very different characters, young dancers beginning their careers or world famous stars, they illustrate together the steps and fundamental issues of a ballerina’s life. Norman followed and filmed them over a period of months, onstage, during rehearsals and at home. He found for each one of them a challenge for the future. Whether it is the beginner leaving school to begin a new career, the injured star who must make her come back , the rising star leaving her theatre to blossom somewhere else, they embody the many different aspects of the Ballerina.

The story of a ballerina is the story of a permanent metamorphosis. Whether it is at different moments of her career or at different moments of the day, from the young girl suffering at rehearsals or the one who shines with grace on stage, or the one who goes back to a common social life, the ballerina changes constantly and her beauty appears in this transformation. Though the art of ballet is to appear graceful and light, this is the product of exhausting and painful work for the dancers. Watching these artists, ballet becomes more than mere aesthetics, it convey to the audience deep emotions. The artist can transcend the repertoire to create something new, never seen before. That’s what happens when stars like Diana Vishneva, Svetlana Zakharova, and maybe even more Ulyana Lopatkina, are dancing.

But it is while filming young dancers like Alina Somova ou Evgenia Obraztsova evolving and growing that the director can show the viewer the mystery of the metamorphosis that characterizes the life and art of the “ballerina”. --© First Run Features [More]

Starring: Ulyana Lopatkina, Elena Obraztsova, Alina Somova, Diana Vishneva

Starring: Ulyana Lopatkina, Elena Obraztsova, Alina Somova, Diana Vishneva, Svetlana Zakharova

Director: Bertrand Normand

Director: Bertrand Normand
Screenwriter: Bertrand Normand
Studio: First Run Features

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