BALLET {DOCUMENTARY FILM} (TV)
Summary
Tape one of two. This documentary, filmed in 1992, follows the workings of the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) both on and off stage. Without the use of a narrator and with no on-screen identifications, filmmaker Frederick Wiseman looks at dancers, administrators, choreographers, stagehands, and costumers in an effort to present a complete picture of a ballet company at work. The ABT's then-director Jane Hermann negotiates touring costs and conditions, and reviews scheduling and programming conflicts with an administrator at the Metropolitan Opera House. One of the ABT's ballet masters conducts a class; choreographer Agnes de Mille oversees rehearsal of her final ballet "The Other," and discusses the creative process. Choreographer Ulysses Dove teaches a pas de deux and is shown being photographed for publicity stills. Choreographer Glen Tetley rehearses his "The Rite of Spring"; former Royal Ballet dancer Michael Somes trains dancers in Sir Frederick Ashton's "Symphonic Variations." Irina Kolpakova, a former ballerina with the Kirov Ballet, instructs dancer Susan Jaffe in the art of subtleties of expression; Georgina Parkinson coaches dancers in various stylistic variations; and office staff, physical therapists, and costume designers are shown working in their fields of expertise.
The dancers participate in casual activities such as kite flying, enjoying rides at an amusement park, bungee jumping, and dancing at an outdoor cafe. A portion of Sir Frederick Ashton's "Symphonic Variations" is shown and Cynthia Harvey dances a solo from Kenneth MacMillan's "Sleeping Beauty," both performed in an outdoor amphitheater in Athens, Greece. Julio Bocca and Alessandra Ferri dance two separate pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet" at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
(This program contains minor technical problems. This represents the best copy of this program currently available to the Museum.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1998.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: June 26, 1995 Monday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:50:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:41219
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Ballet; Dance
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1995
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Frederick Wiseman … Producer, Director, Writer
- Kenneth MacMillan … Choreographer, For "Romeo and Juliet", For "Sleeping Beauty"
- Glen Tetley … Choreographer, For "The Rite of Spring"
- Frederick Ashton … Choreographer, For "Symphonic Variations"
- Clark Tippet … Choreographer, For "Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1"
- de Mille, Agnes … Choreographer, For "The Other"
- Ulysses Dove … Choreographer
- Julio Bocca … Dancer
- Alessandra Ferri … Dancer
- Cynthia Harvey … Dancer
- Susan Jaffe … Dancer
- Jane Hermann
- Irina Kolpakova
- Natalia Makarova
- Georgina Parkinson
- Michael Somes