AFI FEST - LA DANSE: THE PARIS OPERA BALLET (review)

The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the world's great ballet companies. LA DANSE shows how a ballet company functions from administration, technical support, and classes, to the rehearsal and/or performance of seven ballets— Paquita by Pierre Lacotte, The Nutcracker by Rudolf Noureev, Genus by Wayne McGregor, Medea by Angelin Preljocaj, The House of Bernarda Alba by Mats Ek, Romeo and Juliet by Sasha Waltz and Orpheus and Eurydyce by Pina Bausch. The film is a profile of all aspects of the ballet company, one of France’s principal cultural institutions.



A fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the process of an artistic institution, from rehearsals to cafeteria food to courting benefactors. There are no introductions to principal dancers or figure heads, and you just immediately become a fly on the wall in the best way possible. About 70% of the film is devoted to the dancing, which is photographed the way it should be: in long, still shots that allow the viewer to see how remarkable these athletes are. You need not know anything about ballet to appreciate this film, and director Frederick Wiseman captures it all wonderfully in his trademark verité style.