Fictional films that aim to take us backstage into the “real” world of ballet invariably turn on melodrama and the romantic fluff of soap operas. (Think “The Turning Point.”) But at the highest levels of the profession, the unvarnished reality of a dancer’s life contains plenty of genuine theater, as proved in Bertrand Normand’s jewel of a documentary, “Ballerina.”
This is an insider’s view of a subculture that’s unlike any other, one that happens to include beautiful women, extraordinary physical feats and, occasionally, bitter tears. Yet the film neither patronizes nor overidolizes its subjects.
The five dancers he followed in St. Petersburg have only increased in fame since he began filming: Svetlana Zakharova (who now dances with the Bolshoi Ballet), Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Alina Somova and the especially promising Evgenia Obraztsova.
Starting with years of painstaking training at the affiliated Vaganova Ballet Academy, the progression of a lucky few into the professional company, and then the endless rehearsals, uncertainties and struggles with directors, one’s own body and the march of time, a ballerina’s life is not for the weak.
Particularly not in St. Petersburg. No other ballet establishment can boast the heritage, the reputation and the resources of the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov), which produced Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
But forget about the stars. How about the moment when a group of 10-year-old girls auditions at the Vaganova, in their underpants, in front of a male instructor who tests the flexibility of their hips and spines as if he’s a horseman shopping for a foal?
Another emotional beat comes as Somova, preparing for her first “Swan Lake,” rehearses before ballet director Makhar Vaziev. “I don’t like that” pose, he scolds the teen, who has her leg crooked up high behind her, almost touching her shoulder blades. “Do it normal, not stretched.”
She shows him the pose again and again. “I don’t like it,” he snaps, and you can feel the atmosphere chill. (He’s right — she is contorting the shape.) The film then takes us through the young ballerina’s debut performance, her curtain calls, her smiles . . . but once backstage, she faces more criticism, and exhilaration quickly turns to tears.
There are many eye-opening scenes here — among them the rehearsals with legendary Russian coaches, and French dancer Manuel Legris’ outspoken awe at the Russians’ work ethic.
But I’m still haunted by those little girls at the barre, some of them clutching a piece of clothing to their bare chests as they watch one another’s tryouts with inscrutable looks on their faces. They’re taking a first step toward a career that even at its outset, they are finding out, is demanding, a bit humiliating — and far from entirely under their control.
“Ballerina”
Not rated. 1 hour, 20 minutes. Documentary. With English narration and Russian and French dialogue with English subtitles. Directed by Bertrand Normand; with Svetlana Zakharova, Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Alina Somova and Evgenia Obraztsova. Opens today at Starz FilmCenter.
