Breaking Pointe

Breaking Pointe is a televised series depicting both the beauty and grace of ballet, and the dark side of the dance form too with its intense competition. It takes an unfiltered look at one of the most competitive ballet companies in the country, Ballet West in Salt Lake City USA. Beneath the beauty of the dance and costumes is a tough world of extreme athleticism, huge dedication, passion, pressure and the search for unattainable perfection. The reality television series premiered on 31 May 2012, releasing its second season recently on 22 July 2013. It tracks the stories of many of the dancers of the company, including Christiana Bennett, one of Ballet West's Principal dancers since 2004. Ronnie Underwood, First Soloist having joined the company in 2011. Allison DeBona who joined in 2007 and promoted to Demi-soloist in 2011. Brothers Rex and Ronald Tilton and Beckanne Sisk a Demi-soloist, being only 19, her promotion in the first episode caused resentment and jealousy from the older dancers in the company, just one of the causes of friction within any ballet company. Breaking Pointe reveals the toughness and will to survive of the dancers, pushing their bodies to extremes – through numerous injuries, sacrifice and painful positions – in order to achieve perfection and be ‘the best’. Despite just focusing on Ballet West (made up of 48 dancers), the series could be describing any one ballet company from anywhere in the world. Breaking Pointe works to reveal the true competitive nature of ballet, and how dancers have to navigate the complicated social politics inside the company in order to advance and succeed. Ballet West, led by Artistic Director Adam Sklute, a former dancer and Associate Director of The Joffrey Ballet, is not alone in this rough-and-ready industry, with Breaking Pointe pulling the audience directly into the company, both off-stage and on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc15DvQJcWs