ballet russes documentary - dvd review
screentime 6th november 2006
dana goldfine and dan geller's lovely film about one of the most significant ballet companies to have ever existed, is an exquisite combination of archival footage, history and interviews.
securing a selection of personalities whose skills as raconteurs match theirs as ballet superstars, the film moves at a brisk pace, covering decades of the ballet russes company's activity and shedding light on the lives of it's members.
several standout characters lingered in my mind long after viewing the film, including the coquettish romantic nathalie krassovska and the charmingly entertaining freddy franklin.
this is a film which, in the style of the best documentaries, overflows with life and vitality, the stories of these amazing lives unfolding in a clever balance of a wealth of archival material with new footage and interviews with the surviving dancers.
the story itself is the stuff of legends: revolution and exile, dancers barely more than children discovered and taken on tours of every major city in the civilised world.
as well as being hugely successful commercially, the ballet russes company was artistically groundbreaking, this leading to huge differences of opinion between one manager and a star choreographer that divided the group into two factions, each with a different destiny, and each claiming to be 'the original ballet russes'.
i was not knowledgable about ballet or the history of this company, but i left this film refreshed and amazed, charmed and enlightened, touched and smiling.
the newly released dvd of Ballet Russes features several additional sequences as well as some of the astounding archival footage and a photo gallery featuring candid and publicity stills of many of the stars.
presented very tastefully by hopscotch films, this dvd is a delightful edition of a truly wonderful documentary, which amply deserves an encore.
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