Tears, injuries, envy, and euphoria backstage with Canada’s main ballet company before an important premiere.
Legendary ballerina Karen Kain, partner of Rudolf Nureyev and model for Andy Warhol, is working on her final production before retirement for the National Ballet of Canada, which she has led since her dancing career ended. She has chosen Swan Lake as her final ballet. Week after week director Chelsea McMullan observes preparations for the production, filming arduous rehearsals and dressing room conversations, getting into ballerinas’ bedrooms and following them into the parking lot, where they go to smoke when upset. Classical ballet is a conservative, hierarchical, and brutal art form, and Kain’s decision to reject pink tights for the «swans» in order to show that there are dancers with various skin colors in the company, is considered to be revolutionary. The choice of dancer for the lead role is a drama and a thriller in one. The tears, injuries, secrets, envy, conflicts, unexpected discoveries, and the euphoria of the premiere are just as intense as in Black Swan. The film is enthralling, even for those who last saw a ballet as a child, with their grandmother.
The film will be screened in English with Russian subtitles.
Swan Song
Director Chelsea McMullan
Canada, 2023. 99 min. 18+