There's a story in The Onion entitled "Dancer Risks Everything," which sets up the well-worn cliches of every dance film: sacrifice, breaking all the rules, one chance to change the course of a life. "First Position" has all of these and more; the documentary's subjects are young, and several embody child prodigy stereotypes as well. But Bess Kargman's documentary takes these cliches, adds the high stakes of a world-renowned youth ballet competition and turns the whole product into a documentary film as rewarding as "Hoosiers." Only with tights.
First Position
First Position
First Position
There's a story in The Onion entitled "Dancer Risks Everything," which sets up the well-worn cliches of every dance film: sacrifice, breaking all the rules, one chance to change the course of a life. "First Position" has all of these and more; the documentary's subjects are young, and several embody child prodigy stereotypes as well. But Bess Kargman's documentary takes these cliches, adds the high stakes of a world-renowned youth ballet competition and turns the whole product into a documentary film as rewarding as "Hoosiers." Only with tights.