A Dancer's Life

A Dancer's Life
Directed by	William Richert
Produced by	Gerald E. Seltzer William Richert
Starring	Janis Roswick Menken Alan Menken Leon Danielian David Prince
Narrated by	William Richert
Edited by	David Hill
Production company	Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributed by	Roninfilm
Release dates	September 12, 1972 (1972-09-12) (New York Film Festival)
Country	United States
Language	English

A Dancer's Life (also known as First Position) is a 1972 American documentary film directed by William Richert, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Overview

The documentary tells the professional and personal life of dancers at the now-defunct American Ballet Theater School in New York City. The film is considered by the critics as one of the most successful ballet documentaries ever made.

Plot

New York City, Summer 1972, at the American Ballet Theater School, where the dancers of the company prepared for the next class. One of the dancers, Janis Roswick, at 18 years old a beautiful ballerina considered by all as one of the best in the company. As she prepared she talks with her friends. After the class has finished, Janis goes out of the building with Alan Menken, her boyfriend and one of their best friends, Andrei Kulyk who everyone calls him under the name of Louis. After Louis changed his mind and decided to visit his mother, Janis and Alan continued their road to their home. The two talks about their planning for the week. After Janis has arrived to her home, the two lovers shared a tender kiss. Later, at home, Janis reads aloud from her diary, disclosing her intention to add beauty to the world and become a better person through dance, and describes her preparation to take lessons will present to her in the future. Back to the company, we see the dancers practicing at the class. David Prince, one of the dancers aged 22 years old known among the company for hard practicing to reach a better level in dance. David has a happy life except for one thing; his father who is a doctor dislikes the fact that his son is a dancer, instead, his dream is to see him becoming a doctor. His mother has the same thought as his father. and speaks with her son at their domicile that it's preferable he take another path than the path to be a dancer. But in the conversation, David has disagreed to be a doctor, saying that it's his dad's dream, not his. Early in the morning, Janis and Alan are the first to arrive. They talk about their relationship and the things they plan for the future. Alan is a composer and pianist who came to the company to compose tunes for the classes and their shows. Through their talk, their relationship is very sincere and their plan is to marry as soon as possible. After class, actress Julie Newmar talks with the dancers about the techniques of dance and also about perseverance. Later the same day, Janis's father, Aaron Roswick talks with her while he drives the car. They talk about family and also about Alan. At home, Janis's family and friends are reuniting for diner. While Aaron talks too much, he forgets to serve roast chicken causing his wife, Edith say to him "there's a chicken to be cut" which everyone laughs. The next day, at another class, the dancers practice while the ballet teachers give them advice. Later he talks with Julie about his old dreams and how he found his inner voice through dance. After the class is finished, David at his home talks with his girlfriend, ballerina Marlise Rockey about his parents and their thoughts to see him as a doctor. But, Marlise said to him he must follow his voice inside him no matter what people think.

Cast

• Janis Roswick Menken
• Alan Menken
• Leon Danielian
• David Prince
• Andrei Kulyk
• Valentina Pereyaslavec
• Marlise Rockey
• Aaron Roswick
• Edith Goldman Roswick
• Daniel Giagni
• Natalia Makarova
• Rudolf Nureyev
• and the students of the American Ballet Theatre School

See also

• List of American films of 1972

External links

• A Dancer's Life
• Amazon
• A Dancer's Life at IMDb