3:00 pm | $12/$10 members/$6 children | 1 hr 25 min | Documentary
What does it mean to possess a great talent at the highest levels of the Ballet world? And…what if you don’t look like the prevailing notions of how a ballerina should look? “A Ballerina’s Tale,” the documentary about Misty Copeland, a ballerina who happens to be African-American, will be screened at Rosendale Theatre. Produced and directed by Nelson George, director of the award winning HBO film “Life Support,” “A Ballerina’s Tale” is a cinéma vérité exploration of the life of a person who is making history just by doing her job to her best ability. She has been featured on “60 Minutes,” “The Colbert Report,” and now “Jimmy Kimmel Live”—you want to see for yourself what all the fuss over Misty is all about. The program will last approximately 85 minutes.
American Ballet Theatre, one of the leading ballet companies in the United States, founded 75 years ago, had never promoted a woman of color to the rank of principal dancer. And then along came Misty Copeland! Ms. Copeland, who, after enduring what seemed like career ending injuries in 2012, was finally granted her position of principal dancer in June 2015. Subsequently, she has become a national heroine. Scenes of Ms. Copeland on stage make the film a joy, excerpts from “The Firebird” and “Swan Lake” show her at her loveliest and most purposeful. Also featured in the film is Raven Wilkinson, the legendary African-American Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancer.
Dance Film Sundays, a series which started in June 2010 under the auspices of the Rosendale Theatre Collective, are held on the 2nd Sunday of every month at Rosendale Theatre.