First Position was this month’s First Tuesday offering at
the Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre in Oak Park. This beautifully told documentary
by Bess Kargman. tells year-long experience of six child ballet dancers from
around the world, ranging from ages 9 to 18, who all end competing in the Youth
America Grand Prix for scholarships and contracts. The film premiered at the
2011 Toronto International Film Festival, winning the audience’s choice for
first runner-up for Best Documentary. Since then the film has toured the
country and won many awards.
The film cross-cuts between the lives and aspirations of the
following dancers:
- Jules Jarvis Fogarty, age 10 (who discovers he is not as committed to the dance as his older sister and drops from the competition in spite of his mother’s emotional distress)
- Miko Fogarty, age 12 (California-based sister of Jules, whose mother seems the ultimate stage mom)
- Aran Bell, age 11 (highly personable son of an American Navy doctor currently living in Naples, Italy with his father)
- Gaya Bommer Yemini, age 11 (Aran’s dancer friend from Israel)
- Michaela DePrince, age 14 (born in Sierra Leone and adopted by a Jewish couple living in New York, she dances in spite of serious physical pain)
- Joan Sebastian Zamora, age 16 (handsome youth from Columbia who sees the competition as a way for his family to live a life they can’t in Columbia)
- Rebecca Houseknecht, age 17 (pretty blonde Texan high school cheerleader who has been raised as the Princess at home and is called “Barbie” by her friends at school)
The backstories of each dancer, leading up through their
practices and competitions, allow us to truly care about each, and as they each
performs at the semi-finals, we feel a sense of ownership to their efforts. The
semi-finals funnel some 5,000 contestants to just 300 at the big event.
Multi-cameras are used to record reaction shots of judges, parents and
competitors.
The film was inspiring and, for anyone who enjoys ballet and
dance, a visual treat.
First Position (2011) ****
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