i didn't watch this movie until late this year. i watched it with my housemate, and by the time it ended, we were disturbed for many reasons. we were distressed that nina's mother treated her like a child eventhough she is an adult, we were stressed out that she seems to be a child craving for approval eventhough she is an adult and should be confident enough to be who she is. my housemate, not familiar with the rigorous trainings that ballet dancers undergo,was aghast at the level of perfection that they strive to achive in their practices. something so soft and beautiful is all but a veneer of sheer strength and resoluteness. may be nina is too fragile to attend to the demands of being a prima ballerina, but the girl before her was not known for stability either. she puts herself through hours of non stop practice that she begins to see things, and you begin to wonder yourself, at the cost of losing your mind, is this all worth it?
i think it is an interesting take on the risks people take to achieve the highest level of perfection in art. art demands you to be critical of yourself, which means you have to be mentally strong to withstand the burden of creativity. contrasting her character with lily, the free spirited dancer who doesnt seem to think too much of what she does and yet dance with ease and charm; unlike nina's perfect robot like precision. who is the real artist here? the one losing her mind in interminable practices, or the one taking it easy chanelling her calmness in her art?
i think there is no easy answer in this one.
I haven't seen this movie either, but I already have it somewhere ready to be watched.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that many people denigrate dancing as a sport. Surely something that looks so gently and soft must be so easy.
No.
Dancing takes a great deal of strength and athleticism, combined with an ear for rhythm and a heart for expression. I laugh when people say male dancers are poofters; gays may be disproportionately high in their ranks but if you test strength in kicking, they may outpower a martial artist.
The serious ballet dancers come for warm up classes at 8 am for 1.5 hours, work en pointe for another 1 hour before going for rehearsal (another 3 hours). Then they go to the gym for strength training and aerobics. They have to be very strong to jump, pirouette, glissade, jete, pas de chat, and so on.
Endurance is a must, masochism is necessary because pain is a constant companion. Bunions, muscle tears, ligament and tendon injury are quite common.
However, though many may have the discipline to maintain the rigours of ballet, not many become professional dancers because they lack the X factor that make their dance alive. Like a technically proficient musician, if they lack the certain je ne sais quois that elevates their performance from adequate to magnificent, they will not be a star.