Overview
The documentary First Position follows six dancers aged 9 to 19 as they prepare for a seemingly impossible task; to outshine thousands of others dancers at the Youth America Grand Prix, which awards scholarships to top ballet schools all over the world.
There are the usual strict teachers, obsessive parents and professional hurdles to overcome first. The director Bess Kargman has chosen a diverse troupe of dancers to focus on. The stand outs are Joan, a 16-year-old Colombian who is studying alone in New York and is determined to make his parents proud, Michaela, who was adopted by elderly Jewish Americans from war-torn Sierra Leon and Aran, an incredible dancer and unbelievably charismatic at only 11. Kargman followed the dancers across the United States to Colombia and Italy over the course of a year charting their progress in the build up to the competition.
Focussing on six dancers means she can only skim the surface of their stories but they nevertheless all contribute to the film's heart. Their stories are diverse, engaging, funny and uplifting. Director of photography Nick Higgins does an inspired job of capturing the beauty and power in the movement of these young figures.
Naturally I was willing each of the dancers on during the intense competition but to see them all go on to achieve what their hearts desired seemed a bit unlikely. With such a small proportion of dancers actually succeeding in the competition, I couldn't help wondering what it would've been like to come so close and not make it. Although it no doubt would have been heartbreaking to watch, it's the reality the majority of the dancers face. It would've added a bit more depth to a documentary which is nevertheless well worth watching.