'Flesh and Bone': Beautiful show about ballet's ugly side
The dance world has gained a lot of exposure in recent years from reality TV, YouTube, and social media. Shows like Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance have led to more looks behind the curtain, with Breaking Pointe, the fictional Bunheads (both of which had loyal fans but have been canceled), and a host of Web series focusing on schools and ballet companies, plus tips and tricks from dancers.
The dance world has gained a lot of exposure in recent years from reality TV, YouTube, and social media.
Shows like Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance have led to more looks behind the curtain, with Breaking Pointe, the fictional Bunheads (both of which had loyal fans but have been canceled), and a host of Web series focusing on schools and ballet companies, plus tips and tricks from dancers.
The latest dance show to land is Flesh and Bone, an eight-part limited series premiering Sunday night on Starz and starring Pennsylvania Ballet alum Sarah Hay, now a soloist with Germany's Dresden Semperoper Ballet.
The pilot in many ways resembles Darren Aronofsky's 2010 film, Black Swan, focusing on the gritty life behind the ballet. Hay and several of her castmates were extras in that movie.
In Flesh and Bone, Hay's first major acting role, she plays Claire, an exceptionally talented but emotionally damaged ballerina.
Claire is 21 - and Paul (Ben Daniels), director of the fictional prestigious American Ballet Company, sees her as too old for her first real ballet job, in a career field many aspirants enter before they graduate from high school. But he cannot deny her technique and artistry. Soon he reverses course and decides she is the next big thing. He will change the season opener to highlight his new star.
Meanwhile, Claire is just finding her way around the company. At every turn, there is a shock. Behind the satin shoes, tutus, and tiaras, she encounters eating disorders, drug use, and jealousy - particularly once more seasoned dancers realize the newbie has cut in line.
Hay is luminous in the role, with a highly expressive face. As Claire, she is often fearful or on the edge of tears, running away from her past, yet anxious about what she is running toward.
Flesh and Bone is about the ugly side of ballet much more than the beauty. It is very much an adult show, which may disappoint ballet students, who would otherwise be a natural audience. There is a great deal of nudity and sex, untreated mental illness, and colleagues who would do anything to break down the competition.
But there is also the dancing, choreographed by American Ballet Theatre alum (and Central Pennsylvania native) Ethan Stiefel. The pilot does not have many dance scenes, but there is a delicious adagio that Claire performs solo. Paul expects the exercise will humiliate Claire, expose her weaknesses, and give him a pretext to expel her from the company. But instead she rises to the occasion (as we knew she would) and sets her path in motion (ditto).
As a drama, Flesh and Bone is compelling and ripe for binge-watching. (All eight episodes will be released Sunday on Starz On Demand and on starz.com.) Some dance fans and insiders may grumble, though: "Not another take on 'ballet dancers are dysfunctional.' " But most will eat it all up.
If nothing else, ballet fans will enjoy spotting recognizable faces in the studio, and seeing them in a new light. The cast includes ABT alums Irina Dvorovenko and Sascha Radesky; Kurt Froman, who danced with the New York City Ballet; Raychel Diane Weiner, from the Oregon Ballet Theater, Ballet Arizona, and other companies; Megan Dickinson, formerly of the Pennsylvania Ballet's corps de ballet and now on Broadway in An American in Paris; and Andrew Daly, who still dances in the corps of the Pennsylvania Ballet.
edunkel@philly.com@edunkel