Black Swan: Is it for Real?

The world of ballet is a fantastic horror story.

That's clearly the message in Darren Aronofsky's over-the-top Black Swan, a film generating steady Oscar buzz just days after opening.

Natalie Portman, stripped down to skin and bones and pounded into a physical peak by 10 months of rigorous training, is the bruised and often bleeding Nina, a sylph in street clothes.

Pushed and pimped by Thomas Leroy, the slithery artistic director played by Vincent Cassel, the young ballerina wins the leading role in Swan Lake with a bite. An actual bite, taken during an unwelcome/welcome — she's not sure herself, the first sign of her internal split — kiss.

The nip marks the beginning of Nina's transformation from nice to naughty. This is definitely not The Nutcracker, although it is nutty and Nina's toes sure do crack. As do her legs, in a "tour de madness" near the film's end.

Along the way there's enough suffering and sadomasochism to please the most hardened thriller film seeker. And enough sophistication in the camera work to mask the inevitable disparity between an actress who has studied ballet, albeit with integrity, for 10 months, and a dancer who has spent 10 years doing countless tendus, pirouettes and entrechat quatres.

If you're wondering about your daughter or, less commonly, son, seeing the film: You should. Pink tights and feathers may be light, but Black Swan is as dark as its title suggests. It's rated R for a reason.

If you're worried about your child being involved in dance, you should. Not because everything in the film is true (see list below), but simply because the dance world is an exhausting, excruciating place to grow up. It's also magical, imaginative, expressive, physical and glorious. Wonder and worry are appropriate sentiments to bring to the consideration.

If you're contemplating going to the movie, you should. You'll have a physical experience much like dancing: Squirm at the blood, gasp at the sudden dangers, torment yourself with what will happen next, laugh at the excesses, cry at the madness, and finally, suspend all breathing as you are caught in the moment.

How you can tell Portman is not a professional dancer: 

• Her neck: The neck is held stiffly, without the tilt and incline (called épaulement) that is trained into a dancer.
• Her gait: Walking or running in pointe shoes is an exquisitely refined part of dancing. It's often overlooked until the professional level, so it's an immediate signal to the experienced eye.

What's True:  

• Crackly toes in the morning
• Obsessive practice
• Moving rapidly from older stars to the new flavor of the month
• Eating disorders
• Hard physical work
• Ripping, shredding, cutting, wetting and banging $100 pointe shoes to prepare them for use

What's False:

• Being coached to use sexual encounters with self and others to prepare for a role
• Being coached only from an emotional perspective
• Never being told to pull up, spot faster, close your second arm, turn out your back leg more, press down into the floor to go up, stop using your fingers to partner, etc.
• Bitterness between dancers. Actually, most dancers in professional companies form tight bonds. They compete for roles by dancing better. They remain friends for years after they retire. It's more of a sister/brotherhood than a warring gang.
• Piqué turns are not the most difficult kind of turn. And, they're hard to make seductive, especially to the left.

What's So Good You Don't Care About True or False:

• The visuals: Makeup, costumes, cinematography, arched feet, Portman's face
• The acting: Barbara Hershey as the clinging, claustrophobically close mother

Lou Fancher has been a ballet mistress, choreographer and coach for professional ballet and modern companies in the United States and Canada for 20 years.