One of the great things about Bringing Balanchine Back is of course the dance itself. Not only have they filmed fairly substantial chunks of the company's performances during the week's run, it has to be some of the best filming of dance that I've ever seen. Far too many times dance is filmed through one camera pointed at the stage from the middle of the theatre so all you see are a bunch of little figures looking like music box figurines moving around. For these performances they have used multiple cameras so we are able to draw in close enough to the principles when they are soloing to see the expressions on their faces, as well as draw back to see the entire corps as required.
There are also cameras in the wings as well, so we get to follow the dancers onto the stage as they make their entrances and hear the sound of their toe shoes thudding into the wood floor. Watching the corps de ballet go from their standing starts to floating on air in the matter of seconds it takes to get onstage from back stage is to be reminded of the magic of theatre and, more importantly, the magic of ballet.
The DVD Bringing Balanchine Back is a wonderful record of the New York City Ballet's journey to St. Petersburg to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of their co-founder's birth. However what I think is even more important is that it gives people an opportunity to both go behind the scenes of the ballet and gain a better understanding of what it takes to be a dancer, and to witness the magic and beauty of dance up close. That, to me, seems a highly appropriate way to celebrate the legacy of the man, George Balanchine, who almost single-handedly established classical ballet in North America.
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