Blog Post: First Position

Dance moms and dance dads will want to catch this superb, award-documentary that just opened in West LA, Encino and Pasadena screens. Following the lives of seven young dancers as they make the rounds of an international ballet competition, the film is a stunning ode to the sweat, dedication and devotion of these young boys and girls in the "show-no-mercy" world of professional dance.

Directed by Bess Kargman, it portrays these wonderful dancers as the superbly trained athletes they are. The boys, especially, once again give lie to the stereo-typed notion that ballet is for sissies. There are few, if any, football players who can summon the strength to perform these amazing acts of control and grace and not show the strain and sheer muscular power and discipline required. 

Most compelling is the story of 14 year old Michaela DePrince, a black giry from Sierra Leone who witnessed horrific acts of brutality in her homeland before being adopted by a Jewish couple in America. Despite a bruised achilles tendon, Michaela came through in her big final solo, winning a scholarship to study full-time at American Ballet Theatre in New York. 

Bring the kids to this winning and inspiring film that proves that talent knows no limits when dreams and hope can surmount all obstacles.  The audience left dancing in the streets on Santa Monica Boulevard--I kid you not.