In mathematics there was Newton; there was Freud in psychology; and in American ballet, George Balanchine was a fundamental genius. He was a Georgian choreographer born in Russia, prominent with the Russian Ballets in Paris, and moved to the United States from Europe in 1933. Balanchine helped found and used the highly influential American Ballet School and New York City Ballet here revolution in dance style this was held in the United States.
Balanchine taught a lesson for her son every day. New York Ballet companyand there he showed his vision of what dance should be. The documentary “In Balanchine’s Classroom” combines archival footage from Balanchine’s studio with contemporary interviews with the dancers involved. They describe the experience as being similar to being a student of Einstein.
In this documentary, there is a beautiful act of translation as Balanchine observes her former students – now grown-up teachers – trying to translate her gestures into speech. Their inability to find perfect equivalents between these two languages illustrates the plight of the choreographer: “Do it this way” is a meaningless instruction if the mysterious “it” can’t be done anyway.
In a fun scene, director Connie Hochman shows the master at work. Balanchine grunts and snaps as he describes the dance, and his bewildered disciples must transform his verbal and physical twists into perfect pliés and pirouettes. Decades later, his students sigh, murmur, and gesture as their instructors do. Archival footage of Balanchine’s company in its heyday becomes a visual relief to verbal frustrations, spectacular proof that it is possible to master an indescribable method.
In Balanchine’s Class
Not rated. Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes. In movie theaters.