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Ballet (12)
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Ballet AdagioNorman McLaren 1972 9 minÉblouissante démonstration de la technique de l'adagio du pas de deux. Ce court métrage expérimental tourné au ralenti souligne la maîtrise des danseurs, la précision de leurs gestes, l'équilibre de chaque pirouette, arabesque ou jeté. Document de travail unique pour les élèves des cours de danse classique, ce film révélera aux autres spectateurs une dimension inconnue du ballet. L'Adagio d'Albinoni forme la trame sonore sur laquelle évoluent David et Anna Marie Holmes, danseurs canadiens de réputation internationale. -
Ballet FestivalRoger Blais 1949 11 minFrom the Canada Carries On series, this is a look at Canada's first national Ballet Festival. Amateur companies from Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Hamilton and Vancouver perform at Toronto's Royal Alexander Theatre. An Ottawa company dances Les Sylphides. The Winnipeg Ballet appears in Visages by Walter Kaufman and the Volkoff Ballet of Toronto in Red Ear of Corn by John Weinzweig, both new Canadian works.
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Dancing Holidays1959 7 minBallet by the Lake: The Wilderness Ballet Camp in Ontario's Algonquin Park. Dancing on the Rockies: The Banff School of Fine Arts ballet class practises out of doors.
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A Delicate BalanceChristine Chevarie-Lessard 2018 1 h 15 minFilmed from the point of view of its young subjects, A Delicate Balance takes an introspective look at the lives of four dancers on the cusp of adolescence—that critical time in one’s life when childhood fantasies begin to collide with the realities of being an adult. A tender and captivating documentary in which students of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec candidly tell their stories and share their hopes and dreams.
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Eye Witness No. 28Ronald Weyman , Allen Stark , … 1951 10 minNew Look on Rails: The Montreal Locomotive Works takes on mass manufacture of diesel engines for Canadian railways, using pantograph machines that turn out six steel patterns in one electronic operation. Dedication to the Dance: In the Boris Volkoff School of Ballet in Toronto, long hours of training and exacting routines pay off in the making of professional ballet dancers. Fun in Fur Land: The annual Trappers' Festival at The Pas, Manitoba, complete with a Fur Queen's court and numerous competitions to test the timberline techniques of northerners, ends with the toughest dog derby in Canada.
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Mavis Staines: Sharing DanceLeah Nelson 2019 4 minWhen Mavis Staines took the helm of Canada’s National Ballet School in 1989, the pedagogy of ballet was due for an evolution. Driven by a belief system that honoured tradition but challenged outdated practices, Staines set in motion a paradigm shift that has transformed ballet training in Canada and around the world.
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NarcissusNorman McLaren 1983 21 minIn this short film by Norman McLaren, dancers enact the Greek tragedy of Narcissus, the beautiful youth whose excessive self-love condemned him to a trapped existence. Skillfully merging film, dance and music, the film is a compendium of the techniques McLaren acquired over a lifetime of experimentation.
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Pas de deuxNorman McLaren 1968 13 minThis short film by Norman McLaren is a cinematic study of the choreography of ballet. A bare, black set with the back-lit figures of dancers Margaret Mercier and Vincent Warren create a dream-like, hypnotic effect. This award-winning film comes complete with the visual effects one expects from this master filmmaker.
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The PerformerDonald Ginsberg 1959 58 minThis 1959 feature documentary is a foray into Canada’s art milieu. What is it like to be a Canadian artist? Answering this central question are Teresa Stratas, winner of Metropolitan Opera auditions; acclaimed lyric tenor Léopold Simoneau and his talented wife, soprano Pierrette Alarie; the National Ballet Company of Canada’s artistic director, Celia Franca and leading male dancer, David Adams; as well as jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, whom we visit at 3 o'clock in the morning at Boston's Storyville Club. The film also includes interviews with radio and television actor John Drainie, Christopher Plummer and Jean Gascon, director of Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde.
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Shadow on the Prairie (A Canadian Ballet)Roger Blais 1953 14 minThis is a screen presentation of a Canadian ballet created for and identified with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company. The theme centres around the settlement of the Canadian West and concerns the fate of a young wife who comes to the prairies with her pioneer husband to begin a new life. Ingeniously designed stage sets suggest a covered wagon and a rude homesteader's dwelling.
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Tour en l'airGrant Munro 1973 49 minFor all who enjoy ballet, this English-language film presents an insight into the dance that only dancers ordinarily see. It is an engaging film portrait of the famous Canadian husband-and-wife team, Anna Marie and David Holmes (also seen in the McLaren film, Ballet Adagio). We see their busy lives as international dance stars, their private interests and, above all, their dedication to the absolute refinement of ballet movement.
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Winnipeg Ballet1953 15 minFred Davis goes backstage at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
