Relève: histoire d'une création

This is an inside look at the challenges of putting together a ballet. Benjamin Millepied takes on quite a challenge as he works as Artistic Director at the Paris Opera Ballet, the world's oldest national ballet. Previous directors were Serge Lifar and Rudolf Nureyev, tough shoes to follow in! Benjamin has some really strong ideas working for him, however. First of all he wants all his dancers to get the most pleasure and enjoyment from their work with him. Historically, entering a Ballet company is almost equivalent to joining an elite special forces company. Continual selection and judgment. This does not leave room for reflection or getting enjoyment from your day to day work. The film shows us scenes of typical scenes of the selection of young dancers, precise and calculated. Many dancers hide injuries for fear of rejection. These can later become career ending without early treatment.

We follow a time line of the all the events that must come together for a successful finish. Dance rehearsals, selection of the musical score, props, integration with the lighting and the actual stage. Benjamin's assistant is tireless in her attention to detail to get everything integrated and obstacles overcome without any undue friction.

Benjamin believes in working with his dancers, showing them exactly how certain moves should work. Positive reinforcement works wonders to bring out the best and not being afraid to make mistakes. He wants his dancers to reflect their audience not what was expected from previous centuries gone by. Various scenes take us into the actual creative process of thinking, dancing, sketching upside down on a studio floor.

The most powerful scenes for me were from the final rehearsal where it all comes together with such magic. Despite threats of strikes and other external events, the opening night arrives. Benjamin ensures that everyone takes the stage that worked on the Ballet.

We all know that it takes more than snapping one´s fingers to produce an excellent ballet, so here is a film which chronicles the process. When I began watching Relève/Reset, I stopped after several minutes because it seemed to be something of a vanity project. I did not know then that Benjamin Millepied is Natalie Portman´s husband, but I suspect that it might have something to do with the fact that this film was made.

Anyway, I eventually finished watching the film in bedtime segments and found it fairly interesting, overall, as a look behind the scenes of a ballet production. But I do think that there is too much of an attempt to idolize Millepied here. Interestingly enough, without knowing that he had choreographed Black Swan, I was reminded of that film in the middle of Relève/Reset at various points, especially looking at the pained expressions on the faces of some of the ocd, extremely thin ballerinas.