1. Reset (Relève)
In early 2013, it was announced that choreographer and dancer Benjamin Millepied, known as the man behind the ballet of Black Swan, would take over as director of the Paris Opera Ballet. Reset finds Millepied on the eve of his first gala with the Opera, designing and refining his inaugural choreography for the esteemed institution. As a film, Reset possesses of the same artistic assuredness as its subject as he blocks out the preliminary steps for his choreography. It explores various concepts of space simultaneously: the digital space, the space of the opera house and the space of the stage, the distance from stage right to stage left. It’s a portrait of a watershed moment for one of the ballet's oldest institutions and one of its brightest new stars, both on the cusp of great transition.
It has an average vote of 7.8 on TMDB.
2. Varicella (Varicella)
Seven-year-old Polina and her 13-year-old sister Nastia live and breathe ballet. Both of them are studying at the Boris Eifman Dance Academy in frigid Saint Petersburg. They’re currently awaiting their grades to find out if they’ve done well enough to be promoted to the next year, with Nastia lovingly guiding he little sister through the process. But in the meantime, Nastia also has to deal with the high demands that the academy places on its students. The gorgeously styled shots are sometimes calm, even clinical, and sometimes warm, lively and funny.
3. Working Dancers
In Buenos Aires a group of acclaimed dancers create the first Contemporary National Company of Dance under their collective leadership. This is the story of four talented dancers, Ernesto, Bettina, Victoria and Pablo, along six years of their journey. We follow their lives, we attend their rehearsals and performances in the emblematic building of the National Library, along with their premiere and backstage in the historical National Theatre of Cervantes. They expose their dreams as dancers, individuals and members of our society, as we observe the fulfilment of their biggest dream: the demand of a National Dance Law. Amazing choreographies, beautiful folklore songs and original Latin-American contemporary music reveal the beauty of dance becoming life.
4. Rhythm is it!
RHYTHM IS IT! records the first big educational project of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle. The orchestra ventured out of the ivory tower of high culture into boroughs of low life for the sake of 250 youngsters. They had been strangers to classical music, but after arduous but thrilling preparation they danced to Stravinsky's 'Le Sacre du Printemps' . Recorded with a breathtaking fidelity of sound, this film from Thomas Grube and Enrique Sánchez Lansch documents the stages of the Sacre project and offers deep insights into the rehearsals of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
5. N.E.S.T (Nem Eu Sei Tudo)
A collective born by the love for Hip Hop culture, in one of the most contradictory places of all. They tirelessly seek to foster and strengthen this culture in the region, taking their name all over on Brazil and the world. Facing all kinds of prejudices, together, they persist in the battle to be better for others. Because they believe that culture is not about what we like, but what can really change lives.
It has an average vote of 7.3 on TMDB.
6. Me, Dorothy...and This Road To Oz
Kansas City Ballet prepares for the world premiere of The WIzard Of Oz with unfettered access to show the process of creating a brand new ballet from the timeless classic.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
7. Madonna: Truth or Dare
From the rains of Japan, through threats of arrest for 'public indecency' in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 'Blond Ambition' concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the icon, from a prayer circle before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.
It has an average vote of 6.238 on TMDB.
8. Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance
A history of the work of Merce Cunningham.
9. Danças Negras (Danças Negras)
A debate about the presence of black culture in Brazilian contemporaneity, as well as the various paradoxes found in the environment of a society marked by a racist and slavery tradition.
10. Flamenco at 5:15
In this Oscar Winning documentary short film, students in their final year at the National Ballet School of Canada are seen learning the flamenco from Susana and Antonio Robledo, who come to the school every winter to conduct classes which are held after the day's regular schedule has ended.
It has an average vote of 6.2 on TMDB.
11. Ella
Ella Havelka made history in 2013 by becoming the first Indigenous dancer at the 50-year-old Australian Ballet. In this engaging, MIFF Premiere Fund-supported world premiere, Ella – a descendant of the Wiradjuri people – charts her inspiring journey from growing up in modest circumstances as the only child of a single mother in rural Australia to gaining entry to National Ballet School, then spending formative years with the acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre before accepting the invitation of The Australian Ballet's artistic director David McAllister to join one of the world's foremost ballet companies.
12. The Next Step Live: The Movie
The film features exclusive footage of the dancers from the series "The Next Step", as they prepared for their first-ever tour in Canada. Also includes live performances and exclusive interviews with cast members.
It has an average vote of 9.5 on TMDB.
13. Nureyev
An insight into the life of the world's most famous male dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.
It has an average vote of 7.4 on TMDB.
14. Butterfly Dance
A very graceful dance with voluminous draperies, by Annabelle Moore, well-known on the metropolitan stage.
It has an average vote of 4.7 on TMDB.
15. Danse de l'éventail (Danse de l'éventail)
A variation on the popular Butterfly Dance, released in hand-colored and stenciled versions. The film has the catalogue number 2011 and was likely shot in 1897 but not screened in France until the 10th of December 1899.
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
16. Ballet, 'Le carnaval de Venise' II (Ballet, 'Le carnaval de Venise' II)
A group of women dressed up as Commedia dell'Arte characters dance together.
It has an average vote of 4.2 on TMDB.
17. Bal d'enfants (Bal d'enfants)
A group of ten infant girls are on a playground. They are in pairs, matched in height. They are doing an organised dance. Each pair twirls simultaneously, while all five pairs rotate in a circular sequence. They often stop their circular rotation so that each pair can perform the same manoeuvre as the other four simultaneously.
It has an average vote of 5.5 on TMDB.
18. Rize
A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
19. Bare
The tendency in the world is right-wing, neo-liberal, and people are more controlled. We have less liberty even if we think we have more. The last territory where we can be ourselves and where we can have full freedom is our own body. The documentary "BARE" focuses on male nudity in the modern dance. The story follows a well-known Belgian choreographer Thierry Smits through a process of building his new creation with a group of male dancers performing bare naked.
It has an average vote of 6.7 on TMDB.
20. Danse indienne (Danse indienne)
American Indians dancing.
It has an average vote of 5.2 on TMDB.
