LA DANSE: THE PARIS OPERA BALLET (11/09)
Frederick Wiseman’s “La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet,” invites viewers an in-depth, behind the scenes look at how a ballet performance is molded from its initial stages and through the rehearsals to the final performance at the legendary Palais Garnier in
The detailed machinations of the administrative staff that really is the machine that allows the performance to be presented is the counterpart to the dance, and it is indeed as Frenchly precise and organized as any dance. The film, as another ad promises, “the next best thing to being there.” And certainly the film is the documentary complement to Herbert Ross’ “The Turning Point” with Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft and ft, Mikhail Baryshnikov.
This is director John Davey’s 38th film (Titicut Follies, High School, Basic Training, Public Housing, Domestic Violence, and Ballet on the American Ballet Theater). Critic Philip Lopate has called Wiseman “the greatest American filmmaker of the last 30 years.”
The cameras follow dancers through their many rehearsals so that we can see the creative process at work, step by step. And have one of the best seats in the house to watch the dance performance after we get to know the dancers so well, and have seen them work through the process to get to the . The dancers include Nicolas Le Riche, Marie-Agnès Gillot, and Agnès Letestu. The choreographers are a mix: Mats Ek, Wayne McGregor, Rudolf Nureyev and Pina Bausch.
We also meet the administrators who make the concerts possible, and their seemingly endless and dedicated meetings are recorded, with strategy every bit as planned out as the dance steps on stage whether it is trimming a budget or dealing with potential and current benefactors whether it is arranging VIP tours or a party.
We are with both dancers and the people behind the scenes for what seems every step through the huge and sumptuous, centuries old Palais Garnier. The ageless, magnificent chandeliers that light corridors above ground contrast with the darkened maze of underground rooms, and wonderful dancers make the airy rehearsal studios seem filled with light even when it is raining. All come together in the lush theater and the final performance – where viewers have the best seats- and still a view of the over 2000 scarlet velvet seats and magnificent Marc Chagall ceiling.