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AN EXECUTIVE BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT NEVE CAMPBELL'S NEW BALLET MOVIE, THE COMPANY.
The art of dance has been captured on film in countless movies ranging from the classic Singin' in the Rain to the more recent Center Stage. Though most dance films strike a chord with those who love dance, few have taken viewers inside the dance world and allowed audience members to draw their own conclusions about the artform's delights and drawbacks.
Enter The Company-brainchild of actress and producer Neve Campbell, a former student of The National Ballet School of Canada. Straightforward in approach, the film adopts a nonchalant tone in its portrayal of a ballet company. "I think a lot of dancers feel that there hasn't been a film that shows the world in the way that we experience it," says Campbell. "I wanted this film to be an all-encompassing story of what dancers go through and what it is to be part of a company."
The company of choice is The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. "[Screen-writer] Barbara [Turner] and I didn't want to do so a story about a company with an internal hierarchy. That creates animosity. With the Joffrey, their whole mentality is all-star or no star," says Campbell. World renowned for its broad repertory of both classic and cutting-edge choreography, the Joffrey was a logical pick as the film's focus.
"Being chosen was the noblest thing that could happen to our company," says Gerald Arpino, cofounder and artistic director. "Having a director like Robert Altman choose The Jeffrey Ballet of Chicago as the world-class company in the film was a great tribute. He and Neve could have chosen any company in the world, but we were the company that he saw the promise or where dance is going and the future of how dance is being directed."
GETTING OFF THE GROUND
The impetus to make the movie stemmed from Campbell's lifelong love of dance. She began dancing at age 6, and by 9 was studying at The National Ballet School of Canada. After five years of training, Campbell was the youngest member of the original Canadian cast of Phantom of the Opera as one of the Degas girls. The engagement paved its way to modeling and acting...