By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 5 cats
Director: Jody Lee Lipes
Country: united_states
Year: 2015
Running time: 75
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3164198
Kyle says: “The title BALLET 422 references its creation as the 422nd new ballet for New York City Ballet, that number seeming to overwhelm choreographer Justin Peck’s youth, experience, and amount of time allotted to create said ballet. The brilliance of this documentary — and it is considerable — is that it is actually about the rehearsal process, about the creation of a piece of art. It is light years away from the melodrama of THE RED SHOES, THE TURNING POINT, BILLY ELLIOT, CENTER STAGE and BLACK SWAN. It is even emotionally distant from the very few memorable ballet documentaries, which tend to focus on the human drama of DANCING FOR MR. B: SIX BALANCHINE BALLERINAS (1989), BALLET RUSSES, or AFTERNOON OF A FAUN: TANAQUIL LE CLERCQ. The closest we come to traditional melodrama is at the very beginning, when the handsome Peck seems slightly wistful during rehearsals for ‘Glass Pieces’, in conjunction with the text informing us he has been with New York City Ballet since 2007, and ‘He is one of 50 dancers in the lowest rank of the Company, known collectively as the Corps de Ballet’. Nevertheless, ‘Following his success at the Company’s choreographic institute, Justin became the only current dancer to choreograph for New York City Ballet’.
“Choreographed to Bohuslav Martinu’s spiky 1950 Sinfonietta La Jolla for piano and chamber orchestra, Peck calls his ballet ‘Paz de la Jolla’ in tribute to California. The film follows Peck’s trying out and writing down choreographic moves through the entire rehearsal process to opening night at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater. Having been present for the Lincoln Center Library of the Performing Arts, Theatre on Film and Tape Collection videotapings of numerous Off-Broadway plays I produced, I am mindful of various ways, both subtle and not, that artists can alter their work when they are aware of the camera’s presence, as well as the myriad of little things that can and will go wrong. The circumspection of director Jody Lee Lipes, who is also the accomplished cinematographer of titles such as MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, TINY FURNITURE, AFTERSCHOOL and TRAINWRECK, and the ease of choreographer Justin Peck in being the protagonist of the film, creator of the work in progress, and colleague of dozens of artists both on and off stage, make for a creative partnership that is both thrilling and unique in my experience. Rather than try to write on and on about BALLET 422, I highly recommend that you see every glorious moment of its 75-minute running time for yourself. 5 cats
“Wednesday, August 26, 2015, on Netflix, New York.”