Ballet 422 Blu-ray Review
People Who Need People
Reviewed by Michael Reuben, May 27, 2015
You don't have to be a ballet fan to enjoy
Ballet 422, although anyone familiar with the art form
will undoubtedly get more out of Jody Lee Lipes's account of the creation of an original piece for
the New York City Ballet, one of the world's leading dance companies. The Ballet was
established in 1948 by George Balanchine, who was joined the following year by Jerome
Robbins as associate artistic director. In the 77 years that followed, the institution has hosted
numerous luminaries, but
Ballet 422 chronicles the work of an unknown: a novice choreographer
plucked from the company and navigating his way through the process of creating his first major
work for exhibition before a discerning audience.
Lipes is less interested in the technical refinements of ballet, which would limit the audience for
Ballet 422 to the cognoscenti, than he is in the process of collaboration itself. In this instance, the
25-year-old choreographer, Justin Peck, was working in a familiar environment with people he
had known for years. Only the relationships had changed, as Peck became their leader. The
equivalent in cinema would be an actor from a group that works together frequently suddenly
finding him- or herself promoted to writer/director (since a choreographer both creates the dance,
and then teaches it to the dancers who perform it).
Peck has been part of the Ballet since 2006, first as an apprentice, then as a member of the
company. (Since the events of
Ballet 422, he has been promoted to soloist.) In 2009, he began
studying at the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of the Ballet, under Peter Martins,
who is the Ballet Master in Chief. Martins was sufficiently impressed with Peck's abilities that,
in 2011, he asked Peck to create an original composition for the Ballet, which would be its 422nd
new work. Peck, who is from San Diego, chose music celebrating the nearby coastal town of La
Jolla by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martin. He called the piece
Paz de la Jolla.
Lipes's camera follows Peck through every stage of
Paz's creation. Modern technology is a
useful aid, as Peck begins "drafting" the piece alone in a rehearsal room with an iPhone
recording his experiments. Later, we see him transcribing the moves he plans to incorporate into
a notebook in what Peck confirms in the commentary is his own form of shorthand. He selects
three members from the company as his principal dancers: Tiler Peck (no relation), Sterling
Hyltin and Amar Ramasar. His exchanges with these dancers (at least those that Lipes includes in
Ballet 422) are a combination of word and gesture, and they are almost meaningless to an
outsider. What matters is the tone, which is easygoing and almost tentative, as the dancers and
choreographer focus together on working out the appropriate moves for realizing Peck's vision.
Interactions continue with all of the departments involved in producing a stage show in the huge
auditorium formerly known as the New York State Theatre and rechristened the David H. Koch
Theatre in 2008. Over and over, Lipes focuses on the tone and style of the interactions, rather
than their content. An especially revealing exchange occurs when pianist Cameron Grant, who
accompanies many of the rehearsals, quietly takes Peck aside when the company transfers to the
main stage and suggests the Peck speak directly to the orchestra. On the commentary, Peck
confirms that such communication is an unusual practice, because dancers and musicians occupy
separate realms, but Grant clearly understands the importance of establishing rapport in this
situation where the musicians are dealing with a new choreographer. Lipes includes Peck's brief
speech to the orchestra, in which Peck is nervous and the orchestra is surprised but appreciative.
Nothing better illustrates Lipes's approach than his handling of the actual premiere of
Paz de la
Jolla. The obvious choice would be to point the camera at the stage and record the dancers, but
Lipes show very little of their performance. Instead, he begins by focusing on Peck sitting in the
audience watching his work come to fruition; then Lipes cuts to a montage of earlier scenes from
various stages of the work's creation. It is a reminder of everything and everyone involved in
bringing a group performance to completion. After the performance, Peck has yet one more task
before him, which serves as a fitting coda to
Ballet 422's theme of collaboration.
Ballet 422 Blu-ray, Video Quality
Director Lipes served as his own cinematographer for most of
Ballet 422, with assistance from
documentary DP Nick Bentgen during times when Lipes could not be present. The shooting
format was not specified, but the film's credits contain the Canon logo, which suggests that the
film was shot with DSLR digital cameras, which are often favored by low-budget filmmakers.
Magnolia Pictures' 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray appears to have been sourced directly from
high-definition digital files after editing and post-production color-correction. The image reflects
the customary virtues of digital capture, with detail and sharpness limited only by the
shortcomings of the available light. Black levels are accurate, which doesn't necessarily mean
that the blacks are always solid. Without the ability to light professionally, documentary footage
sometimes reproduces blacks that are poorly defined, and this happens from time to time in
Ballet 422, but the fault is in the source, not the Blu-ray. Colors are generally naturalistic, with
no attempt to heighten or intensify them.
Since the film is only 75 minutes, Magnolia has opted for a BD-25. The average bitrate of 21.99
Mbps is low by Magnolia's usual standards but adequate for digitally acquired material, and no
artifacts appeared.
Ballet 422 Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation
Dance is not the only art form requiring a group effort. EPKs and making-of documentaries
routinely attempt to capture the same sense of collaboration in film that Lipes seems to convey so
effortlessly for dance in
Ballet 422, but it never comes across as effectively. I suspect that has
much to do with the fact that Justin Peck was working in an established institution that fosters
long-term relationships, something the film business has lacked since the demise of the old
studio system. Also, the film industry is awash in hucksterism and self-promotion, none of which
intrudes into
Ballet 422, probably because ballet isn't a populist art form (which has its pluses
and minuses) and also because Peck is young and just starting out. Had Lipes followed an
established choreographer (assuming one would allow it), he probably would have recorded a
different story. Recommended.
