Many successful Hollywood movies follow the storyline of how a new ballet is prepared. Most have subplots based on the motives and after hours experiences of ballet company members. This film brilliantly ignores the sub plots to focus on the internal workings of the much admired New York City ballet at Lincoln Center's David Koch theater. Every camera angle and every bit of dialogue is fascinating to balletomanes though may be an unfamiliar experience to those who perhaps don't care for the performing arts or aren't enthused about ballet. We get intimate looks at the creative process, the way the corps de ballet prepares new choreography and the inner workings of a major ballet company with 91 dancers. The revelation seems the way the dancers and the house staff seem to direct in committee consensus without line boss artistic management as is traditional in a ballet company once run with an iron hand by George Balanchine and then by Peter Martins.The surprise expose is company ballet performance tweaked by many hands working to guess performer plus house staff consensus at the heart of why some fans adore NYCB and why some fans avoid its surface sameness week after week and year after year.
Review of Ballet 422
