LA DANSE: THE PARIS OPERA BALLET
FrenchinTucson
LA DANSE: THE PARIS OPERA BALLET
(Frederick Wiseman, 2009, France/USA, in English and French with
English subtitles, 158 mins., Not Rated, Zipporah Films) *HD DIGITAL
PRESENTATION
“A JOYOUS EXPERIENCE!" - David Denby, THE NEW YORKER
Documentary master Frederick Wiseman’s 38th film, in a career that has
spanned more than that number of years, turns his attention to one of
the world’s greatest ballet companies, the Paris Opera Ballet.
John Davey’s camera roams the vast Palais Garnier, an opulent 19th
century pile of a building: from its crystal chandelier-laden
corridors to its labyrinthine underground chambers, from its light-
filled rehearsal studios to its luxurious theater replete with 2,200
scarlet velvet seats and Marc Chagall ceiling.
LA DANSE devotes much of its time to watching impossibly beautiful
young men and women — among them Nicolas Le Riche, Marie-Agnès Gillot,
and Agnès Letestu — rehearsing the choreography of Mats Ek, Wayne
McGregor, Rudolf Nureyev and Pina Bausch. But Wiseman, ever fascinated
by the workings of large institutions (a fascination amply displayed
in such Wiseman classics as HIGH SCHOOL, HOSPITAL and TITICUT
FOLLIES), also allows us to observe multiple corners of the Paris
Opera Ballet, from costume rooms and performance halls to cafeterias
and administrative offices. We observe clever marketing teams
strategizing on how to raise money, while simultaneously, passionate
choreographers push their dancers to achieve perfection.
For balletomanes and the merely curious alike (as well as those who
love great documentaries), LA DANSE serves up a scrumptious meal of
delectable moments, one more glorious than the next, made even more
precious by their ephemeral nature.