By Iris Fanger
For The Patriot Ledger
Posted May 11, 2012 @ 06:55 AM
The most poignant moment in the ballet documentary “First Position” comes when the camera stops on the face of Aran Bell, an 11-year-old boy who has just danced his heart out. His expression is a mix of longing and dread as he waits to learn if he’s won a prize. The emotion is palpable.
“First Position” opens Friday and is available starting May 11 via Video on Demand.
Produced and directed by Bess Kargman, a 29-year-old, Brookline native, and former student at Boston Ballet School, the film captures the “dedication, tenacity, and hard work,” as she describes it, of six contestants in the year-long run-up before the 2010 finals for the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City. Attracting thousands of young dancers ages 8 to 19, the annual competition is the grand-daddy of pressure-cookers – a make-or-break moment for fledgling dancers.
Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/entertainment/x1809315699/First-Position-tells-the-story-of-dedicated-dancers#ixzz1ypjGsYpu
Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/entertainment/x1809315699/First-Position-tells-the-story-of-dedicated-dancers#ixzz1ypjByCZe