Ballerina
Bertrand Norman
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Plot Summary
This feature-length documentary by nonfiction filmmaker Bertrand Normand offers five mini biographical portraits of ballerinas from Russia's famed Mariinsky Theatre: Diana Vichneva, Ulyana Lopatkina, Alina Somova, Evguenya Obraztsova, and Svetlana Zakharova.
Credits
Director
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
81%- Reviews Counted: 26
- Fresh: 21
- Rotten: 5
- Average Rating: 6.5/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: If only a glimpse, the privilege compensates: one wants more from Ballerina because the world it reveals -- elegant and harsh, glamorous and grinding, classical and obsolete -- proves so rich in exquisite contradictions.
Rotten: Ballerina is most memorable, not surprisingly, in capturing these women on the move, whether dancing in full costume on the Mariinsky stage or practicing endlessly in the theater's rehearsal rooms.
Fresh: Watching these women perform is a striking lesson in ballet's rigorous aesthetic alchemy -- and the extreme, exquisite individualism that prevails.
Fresh: Dance aficionados will be sent over the moon by this compelling documentary from director Bertrand Norman, chronicling what it takes to be a prima ballerina in the Mariinski Theatre.
Customer Reviews
from a ballerina's perspective
i am a ballerina. i have been dancing for 12 years and i love learning more and more about my art. there are very few movies or documentaries out there that really show what a dancer's life is like. it is such an addicting mixture of blood, sweat, and tears. no one can ever truly understand it until they've experienced it. but i really felt like this documentary conveyed that message. it was beautiful and utterly enthralling. i loved it. i recommend it to any balletomane and anyone who wants to know more about this art. :)
beautiful dancers
I recently bought this movie and have not been able to stop watching it since then. It is a great inside look at a ballerina's life. It shows all: from their stressful rehersals and wonderful shows, to bits of their private life and rising through the ranks of the company. It's a intersting look at Alina Somova and Evengia Obraztova, now a princple and first solist with the Marinsky, from when they were at school, the end of year performance, starting at the bottom again as a corps, then becoming a corypee. It also shows both of them in their first staring role. Uylana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva and Svetlana Zakharova all have a interesting and detailed biography in it too. All in all, a wonderful movie with beautiful dancing.
Leaves me breathless
I love this movie! I am a dancer who is obsessed with Russian ballet. The dancers are the absolute best in the world. I am so full of envy when I watch them dance. The dancing is gorgeous, the dancers are gorgeous! Anyone who loves ballet will love this movie.
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