Documentaries don?t have to be technically great to be irresistible, and Bess Kargman?s First Position, which follows six young ballet dancers as they prepare for an elite competition, is a case in point. You may think you can guess what?s going to happen by the end of First Position: Some will win and others won?t, there will be some tears shed, this or that dancer will be sidelined by an injury ? and yet somehow, even though nothing hugely surprising happens, the details Kargman captures somehow feel fresh. Maybe that?s because this isn?t just a documentary about ballet and the extraordinary discipline it requires; it?s also about youth and its attendant hopes and risks, spelled out in language that?s painfully universal.
Kargman follows her six young dancers on their way to the Youth America Grand Prix, an international dance competition held in New York and judged by a group of professionals including reps from ballet schools around the world: A dancers who does well in the competition might be rewarded with a scholarship, or even a slot in a ballet company. This competition is serious business for these kids, all of whom hope to make some sort of life for themselves by dancing. Eleven-year-old Aran Bell, an American who comes from a military family, is an elfin presence who introduces himself to Kargman?s camera, and to us, by trying to articulate what he loves about ballet: ?I just love it so much. I can?t explain it.? He shows us around his home, where he demonstrates various torture implements used for stretching muscles. He also picks up a BB gun, wisely noting that it?s probably better not to shoot it ? a reminder that this exquisite dancer is still, at heart, just a boy.
We also meet Rebecca Houseknecht,…
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