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Contains discussion of race and one mid sex reference
You don't have to be a tutu fanatic to fall for this reverent ballet doc, but it might help. Tracing the glorious rise and fall of a fabled European touring troupe formed in 1909, Ballets Russes is an undeniably charming but conventional portrait of a time when ballet sparked box-office wars. But thanks to its unimaginative editing of period footage, stills and contemporary interviews, the film fails to make the most of its charismatic cast, the now creaky, OAP dancers themselves.
There's no denying that the footage of Ballets Russes' groundbreaking early years is striking: inspired by its founder, Russian exile Sergei Diaghilev, the company worked with such avant-garde names as Nijinsky, Picasso, Dali and Stravinsky. And as told by the ballerinas themselves, the troupe's transformation into the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo after Diaghilev's death, its bitter split into two competing companies and its final, slow demise in the 60s should make vital viewing.
"FEELS LIKE A HISTORY LESSON"
But directors Geller and Goldfine insist on sticking to a strictly chronological timeline and it soon starts to feel far too much like a history lesson. It's a shame because when the dancers are on screen, the film flies effortlessly. Now in their 70s, 80s and even 90s - and all still dancing - it's these wrinkled, not quite as agile artists looking back on their glory days who are the real stars of the show.
