Northwest Film Forum Premieres La Danse
La Danse: Le Ballet de L'Opera de Paris, premiering tonight at Northwest Film Forum, is a generous behind-the-scenes look at the operations of the Paris Opera Ballet company. The project is produced and directed by Frederick Wiseman, he of nearly forty feature-length documentary films that are frequently characterized as cinema verité, or observational cinema. La Danse follows a loose chronological story arc, tailing the production timeline of seven ballets, including Genus by Wayne McGregor, Paquita by Pierre Lacotte, Casse-noisette (The Nutcracker) by Rudolf Nureyev, Medea by Angelin Preljocaj, The House of Bernarda Alba by Mats Ek, Romeo and Juliet by Sasha Waltz, and Orpheus and Eurydyce by Pina Bausch.
Earlier on, we see Brigitte Lefèvre, Paris Opera Ballet’s Company Director, on the phone. "Everyone must unite around the work," she tells the person on the line. "I find it very important to collaborate in order to achieve the best possible result. To me, the final result has to be a gift to the public. That they can feel without any explanation." This, in a sense, is both the purpose and the outcome of the film, and fitting as part of the opening sequence. With this film, we glimpse the work which goes into achieving a final onstage product, but with Wiseman at the helm don’t expect any explanation on his part, either. It’s filmed simply as if one had freely spent several weeks hanging around the Palais Garnier, munching on baguettes and being completely ignored.
The film portrays the company as a unit, instead of recognizing the individual parts to the whole. Names of dancers or choreographers or administrators are only gleaned through the course of conversation--there is certainly no narrative or titles to ease the viewer into this strange world. As it happens, the stress of not knowing soon fades, and we are free to listen, learn, and watch some outrageously beautiful, beautiful dancing.
There are extended choreography sequences, plenty of ballet for those who really love ballet. One really gets a sense of the monotony of rehearsal; how many times the tiniest details are scrutinized, picked apart, polished, perfected, before a performance; especially how so often the burden falls squarely on the ballerina to make it perfect--but not too stiff! It has to be ephemerally perfect. We get several glimpses into the costume shop and the cafeteria. We watch as the works are built into bodies: sometimes it’s several people (humorously) coaching a single dancer all at once, sometimes the direction becomes more of a conversation, and we can feel their frustration in trying to communicate an artistic concept often greater than they have the power to explain.
We see how the artists are molded into living, breathing sculpture. Moving pieces of art. Rendered intentionally sparse in true Wiseman style, with no introduction, interviews, music, drama or explanation, La Danse is a treat for the dance lover and an accessible portrait for those curious enough to become one.
Seattle premiere tonight, 7 p.m. // Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave // Trailer here.
$6 NWFF members, $6.50 children and seniors, and $9 general admission.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.nwfilmforum.org or by calling 1-800-838-3006.
