Best Ballet Films Of All Time ?

Ballet films have brought the world of dance into our everyday lives, they allow us to glimpse the pain and sweat of the body pushed to it’s limits, the tension of backstage rivalries and the sheer joy of movement in perfect harmony with the music.

LOVE TOMORROW is out on DVD from the 2nd December. Directed by Christopher Payne it was the winner of BEST UK FEATURE at Raindance Film Festival and was choreographed by the well-known Ballet Boyz.

Staring ex Ballet dancers Cindy Jourdain and Arionel Vargas it is set in present day London, LOVE TOMORROW is the story of an ex-ballet dancer whose life is turned upside down after receiving devastating news about her fiancé, Dominic. Wandering the underground in a torment of pain and confusion, a chance encounter with a charismatic Cuban dancer, Oriel offers a temporary distraction. Oriel overlooks her engagement ring and suggests she spends some time with him.

Celebrating LOVE TOMORROW out on DVD on the 2nd December, we look at other great Ballet films from over the years…

The Red Shoes – 1948

Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
The movie employs the story within a story device, being about a young ballerina who joins an established ballet company and becomes the lead dancer in a new ballet called The Red Shoes, itself based on the fairy tale “The Red Shoes” by Hans Christian Anderson.

The Turning Point – 1977

Directed by Herbert Ross
DeeDee left the ballet school after becoming pregnant with the child of another ballet dancer, Wayne. The two settled down to raise a family and co-run a ballet studio in the suburbs of Oklahoma City. Emma stayed and eventually became a prima ballerina with the American Ballet Company (while having an affair with Michael, the ABA Company Head). When the company finally comes back to town, the two reunite. The reunion stirs up old memories and affects the present.

Billy Elliot – 2000

Directed by Stephen Daldry
Set in north-eastern England during the coal miner’s strike, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer dealing with the neagtive stereotype of the male ballet dancer.

Save The Last Dance – 2001

Directed by Thomas Carter
After her mother’s death, Sara is wracked by guilt and gives up on ballet. She moves in with her estranged father and transfers to an urban Chicago school. At her new high school, Sara is one of a handful of white students but quickly befriends Chenille, a single teen mother who is having relationship problems. Chenille invites Sara to a dance club called STEPPS, where she has her first experience of dancing to hip hop rhythms. At STEPPS, Sara meets Derek, Chenille’s brother and a student with dreams of ultimately attending Medical School. He decides to help Sara develop her dancing skills by incorporating more hip hop into her style. As they become closer, Derek takes a reluctant Sara to the Ballet and, afterwards, Sara confides in him all about her mother and her dreams.

Black Swan – 2010

Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Black Swan is an American psychological thriller horror film. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York Company. The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and fragile White Swan, for which the committed dancer Nina is a perfect fit, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan, which are qualities embodied by the new arrival Lily. Nina is overwhelmed by a feeling of immense pressure when she finds herself competing for the part, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality and descend into a living nightmare.