Alessandra Ferri and Sting - Enchanting Short

Look at this amazing short film starring principal ballet dancer Alessandra Ferri alongside Sting, who plays Bach's 'Prelude' from 'Cello Suite nr.1 in G major' on acoustic guitar. Set in an abandoned city building, complete with water damage and dark, misty atmosphere, this film is something different and plainly beautiful.

The Red Shoes

"People often ask me: 'how do you define the ballet?' and I tell them that for me, it is a religion and like all obedient religious zealots, I am prepared to die for my art!"

Secret Cinema presents...

A Dance for One

The very definition of beautiful is what this film is. A dancer alone in a smoky, early morning studio with warm sunshine flowing through the fairy tale windows. As she strokes her silky pointe shoes, she is clearly reminded of all the magic her dancing has brought into her life, how it has given her a purpose. As she stretches at the barre, a routine she will never forget and never give up, you see her stunning black lace shorts and later, applying stage make-up, she dons a cream lace dress: the perfect symbol of femininity. It ends with her dancing alone in a cloudy room, her image duplicating itself like a ballet dancer has to rehearse over and over to reach the proverbial "perfection".

This film shows off the new collection by Nic Briand and Susien Chong, the team behind Australian label Lover. In a collaboration with Australian Ballet's Amber Scott (she choreographed the dance herself to best present the clothing), they created a film to encompass what the collection means and what its inspirations were.

Enjoy!


A Dance For One. from LOVER® on Vimeo.

Where I Want to be Today: a Ballet Studio

I've been working from 6am to 10pm on a film shoot every day for the last two weeks and have been missing my ballet classes. I wouldn't exhange the film industry for anything, but I need and crave my ballet. It's the only thing that can truly relax me and it's soemthing I can just get lost in and enjoy. It's beautiful, it's fun and, most importanlty, it's challenging and pushes me to my limits. I'm also going to the Romeo & Juliet ballet at the end of the month and cannot wait!

“Ballet is the one form of theater

where nobody speaks a foolish word all evening

nobody on the stage at least.”

- Edwin Denby



To Touch, to Move, To Inspire

"To touch, to move, to inspire. This is the true gift of dance."

-Aubrey Lynch

Dancing to Degas

The Impressionist style may have been labeled old fashioned and unoriginal in the beginning of the 20th century, but that does not mean it got any less beautiful. Edgar Degas, the French master, created fairytale pieces with off-centre compositions and captured moments of movement and grace. Enjoy his incredible ballet paintings...

"A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, some fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up boring people."

- Edgar Degas

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

"Nothing in art should seem accidental, not even movement."

Black Swan

Black Swan

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

 Nina (Natalie Portman) is a top New York ballet dancer who lives and breathes ballet. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace retiring dancer, Beth (Winona Ryder), doors open drastically for Nina when she is chosen to portray the Swan Queen. However, Leroy wants one dancer to be both the vulnerable, pure white swan, as well as her seductive, villainous "twin sister" the black swan. Nina perfectly embodies the former, but struggles to let herself fall into her dark side. Competition presents itself in the form of Lily (Mila Kunis) who epitomizes the black swan and paranoia becomes a big part of Nina's every day life. She loses all trust she ever had in anyone, even her critical, former dancer mother (Barbara Hershey) and soon this spirals into destruction.

Darren Aronofsky creates sheer art with every aspect of this film and every award nomination is deserved. The cinematography (with hand held camera actions playing a big role) captures the movement of dance and the overwhelming paranoia perfectly and the well-written twists keep you on your toes to the very surprising end.

What draws the audience in even further is the identifiable situations and the real performances. You feel the fear of losing and the intoxicating need to be perfect. You identify with not being able to share a part of yourself with the world and the grace a wonderful achievement can bring.  This film shocks to the core, but mystifies and amazes just as successfully.

One has to have respect for strong performances, especially when they include such precision dancing. Classical Ballet is the most difficult dance form, but Natalie Portman achieves what every ballerina strives to: she makes it look effortless.

Vincent Cassel is just as impressive as the vain, yet charming; seductive, yet intriguing artistic director.

Black Swan has already won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe for best actress (Natalie Portman) and is now up for five awards at the 83rd annual Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Portman), Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing and, of course, Best Picture.

For more information, downloads and the trailer, check out the official site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/blackswan/

We either make Ourselves Miserable or...