Ballet is one of the finest and most elegant forms of art. And today films about ballet are very popular with both professional dancers and ordinary connoisseurs. In fact, domestic and foreign cinema offers the viewer a ton of a wide variety of projects that not only describe the ballet and its technique, but also make it clear what the life of a dancer is.
A bit from the history of ballet
Everyone knows that ballet is a kind of stage art. In the production, the actors tell a story without words, with only movements and dance figures. Today, there are many different dance techniques, but this was not always the case.
The ballet first appeared in Italy, where it was only an episodic scene in the opera. After that, small ballet performances appeared on the territory of France. By the way, the first full-fledged ballet is considered to be “Circe”, which was staged on October 15, 1581 at the French court. The basis of it was court dances.
In the 18th century, ballet turned into a separate form of stage art thanks to the tireless work of choreographer Jean Noverre. And in Russia, the first ballet production took place in 1673. Since then, this type of art has not lost its relevance.
Ballet Documentary
In fact, there are many documentary films that reveal the secrets of various productions and rehearsals. So, in 1987, the film “Holy Spring. Rehearsal ”, and in 1981 -“ Ballet Time ”, which is dedicated to the work of the famous Maurice Bejart. In 1984, the documentary "Behind the Scenes of the Kirov Theater" was filmed.
There are more modern projects. Filmed in 2000, the film Guillem tells the true story of the famous French ballerina Sylvie Guillem. In 2003, the painting “In Search of a Star” appeared, in which the life and career of the Corsican dancer Emilia Guidicelli was examined in detail. A documentary about the ballet Katya and Volodya tells about the greatest and most talented Russian dancers. And in 2009, a picture of Gennady Yanin appeared under the title “Absolute Hearing”.
In fact, this list can be continued indefinitely, as more and more new films appear every year telling about the realities of the life of young talented dancers, ballet legends , and world-famous ballet companies.
Foreign feature films about ballet
In fact, dancing, and in particular the art of ballet performances, is a huge scope for creativity, which directors and scriptwriters skillfully use. If you decide to watch films about ballet, the list will be long. Therefore, it is worth starting with the most popular.
In 1948, the film "Red Shoes" was released - an interpretation of the fairy tale about magic shoes that endowed the ballerina Victoria with the ability to dance unsurpassed. By the way, most of the film (almost 60% of the time) is occupied by dancing. In 2000, the picture “Billy Eliot” appeared on the screens - a touching story about a boy, the son of a miner, who prefers ballet dancing to boxing.
In 2003, the United States and Germany jointly released the film The Troupe, which tells the story of a group of talented dancers and about all the obstacles that young people face on the road to success.
There is also "The Stage Scene" (2000) and "Stage Scene-2", as well as the psychological drama "The Black Swan" with Natalie Portman in the title role. There are many adaptations dedicated to the art of dance, so even the most fastidious audience has plenty to choose from.
What domestic films about ballet are most popular?
If you are interested in domestic films about ballet and ballerinas, then you should definitely see the picture “Fuete”, which was released in 1986. The plot will tell you about the difficult life of the talented girl Elena Knyazeva, who was intensively preparing for the production of “The Master and Margarita”. Unfortunately, the choreographer dealt an unexpected blow to her, who gave her role to the young ballerina. Here begins the real struggle for a place in the sun.
There are other popular films about ballet. For example, "Mania Giselle", which appeared on the screens in 1996. This is a well-known story about the famous dancer Olga Spesivtseva, who ascended to the top of popularity in 1924 thanks to the role of Giselle. Unfortunately, it was this role in 1942 that caused the ballerina to suffer a catastrophe.
Modern films about ballet and dancing
Recently, ballet and incendiary modern dances have been mixed up more often in feature films - this gives the picture even more enthusiasm, contrast and passion. For example, in 2001, the movie “The Last Dance Behind Me” appeared on American screens, which told the story of a girl dreaming of a career in ballet. But due to the death of her mother, she and her father had to move to another city. Here she meets the black guy Derek, who opens up for her a bright and energetic hip-hop world.
Already in 2006, the sequel “The Last Dance-2 Behind Me” appeared, where ballet pas are also harmoniously combined with intense and even aggressive modern dances.
There are other films about ballet. In 2010, the picture was released in 3D format called "Street Dances", where a group of street dancers, by chance, have to rehearse with students from an elite ballet school.
TV series about ballet
There are a lot of films about ballet. But there are several series that are somehow related to this type of art. For example, ardent ballet fans will like the documentary series “The Magic World of Ballet”, where they will have the opportunity to fully enjoy the beauty and grace of such famous creations as “The Nutcracker”, “Cinderella”, “The Tempest”, etc.
For those fans who want to see some elements of a feature film in addition to dancing, you can offer the Australian series Dance Academy, the first episode of which appeared on the screens in 2010. This series will tell the viewer the moving story of six extremely talented teenagers who are admitted to enter the National Dance Academy in Sydney. Each of them has its own secrets and special character traits, but all of them are united by a love of ballet dancing. Unfortunately, becoming a star in ballet is far from easy.