American Masters teams up with Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Ric Burns to co-produce a new documentary about American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in honor of the ballet company’s 75th anniversary.
American Masters – American Ballet Theatre: A History …premieres nationwide Friday, May 15, 2015 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings)…rthe rise of the company from its earliest days as a small, financially struggling collective, to its pinnacle as one of the most respected and revered dance companies in the world. Beginning film production in 2006, Burns was given unprecedented access to the company and shot hundreds of hours of original footage, including dramatic live performances in Paris and Havana, grueling rehearsals at ABT’s flagship studio in New York City and slow-motion captures at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in Tivoli, N.Y.
The footage from Kaatsbaan features iconic dances by nine ABT dancers, including Copeland, Murphy, Seo, Gomes, Isabella Boylston, Herman Cornejo, Daniil Simkin, Joseph Gorak and Cory Stearns, chosen by McKenzie for their diversity and breadth of talent to illustrate the ABT dancers’ formidable technicality, intricate artistry and nuanced emotion. Shot by Emmy-winning cinematographer Buddy Squires and a 30-person crew using Phantom Flex cameras — which capture up to 2,500 frames per second and brings to life even the smallest of movements — the footage brings a new dimension to the understanding of the extraordinary efforts made in the perfection of form: from the delicate placement of a fingertip to the perfectly executed jeté.
American Masters on PBS
Friday, May 15, at 9 pm EST
Filed under: Ballet, Dance History Tagged: ABT, ABT Studio, Ameican Masters, American Ballet Theater, American Ballet Theater 75th Anniversary Season, “American Ballet Theatre: A History”, “American Masters – American Ballet Theatre: A History”, Buddy Squires, Cory Stearns, Daniil Simkin, Gillian Murphy, Hee Seo, Herman Cornejo, Isabella Boylston, Joseph Gorak, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Kevin McKenzie, Marcelo Gomes, Misty Copeland, PBS, Ric Burns 