Pretty Good

Let's be realistic.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Wonderfully well done film. Gives a true insight into the love that Cubans have for the art of ballet, and the effort they put into turning out prima ballerinas. There are no such thing as primary and secondary schools of ballet in the U.S. That's why ballerinas are better trained in Cuba. Here in the US, on the other hand, if the ballerinas don't have ample money to spend on ballet classes, they simply don't get to be a ballerina. For those who love ballet, you will love this movie, and for those who don't, you will be fascinated by the film, and I am serious. Toward the middle of the story, however, everything changes, as one of ballerinas in the troupe (Mayara Pineiro) decides to defect when she arrives with the troupe in Canada, and decides to walk to the US, rather than return home to her mother, grandmother and family. The ballerina was interviewed after she had arrived in Miami, and in Orlando, and she seemed quite obnoxious, very satisfied with herself at what she had done, and completely unconcerned about the sad and crying family she left behind. She is very narcissistic in having abandoned her mom, her grandmother, and others in her family. Her mom had raised her by herself and dedicated herself to her children, but as often happens, the spoiled child ends up having far more love for herself than for anyone else, and so she dumped her family. Needless to say, the other students in the troupe were equally shocked. So it appears that through no planning of the producer, the movie changed in the middle, and turned into a completely different sort of movie.Still, I have to commend the producer and director of the movie - what a spectacular job! Please make more!

I just saw this film at Lincoln Center's Dance on Camera film. As someone who has seen The Children of Theatre Street, Ballerina and Graines D'Etoiles, I was looking forward to seeing a film about how Cuban dancers are trained. I did not see that.This film has no background on the history of the School of Dance in Havana. Why was it formed? Who has passed through the school? How are the children chosen? Alicia Alonso's name was never even mentioned ONCE.This film choose three dancers to follow: 2 girls and 1 boy. They come from different socio- economic backgrounds and are different colors. We see them being coached and going to competitions. But the coaching/teaching scenes are in Spanish and the filmmaker did not bother to translate any of the teaching remarks.The film ends up focusing on 1 girl who defects from Cuba while her student group is on tour. We are told in titles that the boy, who was first in his class, did not get into the company because he was too dark and of too poor a background.The film ends up being a collection of random scenes that give the viewer a negative view of Cuba. The filmmaker (who received a hostile reception from the audience) claimed that was not her intention but that is what comes through.This is not a film worth watching for dance lovers or anyone else who wants to see a coherent view of what dance training in Cuba consists of. Raating: 4/10