A little something to start your day with a smile and a giggle (I hope).
I'm back from my week-long trip to VA (where I had a wonderful time). Now to hit the flute/picc Nutcracker parts for the Franklin performances the first weekend of Dec. (And which, come to think of it makes at least part of this video entirely à propos). 😃
Review: ‘Rebels on Pointe,’ and in Tutus
Photo
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo in “Giselle” in the 1980s, from “Rebels on Pointe.”Credit
Icarus Films
On days when it seems there isn’t too much to smile about, grab a glass of wine and watch “Rebels on Pointe,” Bobbi Jo Hart’s playful documentary about the all-male comedy dance troupe, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.
The cinematography isn’t the greatest, and the structure is hit or
miss, but so what? In a movie this good natured, the heart is
everything.
The
performances are hilarious, but the dancing is no joke. As Gia Kourlas,
a dance critic for The New York Times, points out, it takes
exceptionally strong technique to merge classical choreography and
comedy. Achieving what James Whiteside, a principal dancer for American
Ballet Theater, calls “a balance between high art and clever camp”
requires endless rehearsal and often physical therapy. Hoisting a
150-lb. man aloft is not for the weak-kneed.
Born from the dust of the Stonewall riots in the 1970s (the name is a homage to the legendary Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo),
the company was initially blackballed by financiers and quickly learned
to survive on a budget. Leading us lightly through that history, the
artistic director and the movie’s unofficial narrator, Tory Dobrin,
describes the devastation of AIDS and the relief of creating a space
where dancers could forge their own identities. Giving the middle finger
to classical ballet was just gravy.
Filming
for four years, Ms. Hart follows a handful of touching individual
stories and takes us on the road (the Trocks, as they are known, are
rock stars in Japan), a punishing travel schedule that gobbles up more
than two-thirds of the year. Oxygenating almost every scene, though, is
the men’s delight in being liberated from the gender restrictions of
traditional ballet — a freedom that allows them to create art that’s
uniquely their own.
I've been re-enjoying the fabulous series "The Collection" on Amazon lately, especially the background songs by Charles Trenet and others. "Surely," I thought to myself, "there must be a series soundtrack." But no. So, thanks to the metadata provided during the playback, I've concocted my own. I hope you like it.
Hear an interview with Sweet Pea Atkinson, one of the singers on this song. Brought back memories & got my toes tappin'. :P Yikes. It was 30 years ago. :|
Sweet Pea has a new record out, Get What You Deserve, that they talk about in the interview.
Off to tootle in the hope that all his practice will help this weekend.
