Ballet West's Breaking Pointe

When a televised reality show/docudrama, Breaking Pointe, aired a six week behind-the-scenes glimpse into the company, Ballet West, depicting the inside world of a dancer (and believe me - it is such an inside world), I was motivated to watch. When I found that the show didn’t candy coat anything, instead displayed the “blood, sweat, and tutus” as another writer described it, I was tongue-in-cheek proud. Breaking Pointe is really, truly a blunt and honest portrayal of what it’s like to dance professionally; the dedication, commitment, passion, precision, pain, drama, obsessiveness, difficulty to maintain relationships due to the shifting nature of the work, demands, the need to excel, perfectionism, distinct lifestyle—even touching on the actual caloric consumption of a dancer (huge!)—all of it exposed and defined extremely well. Took me back, made me laugh, experience anxiety, feel anger, and cry. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that a Season 2 is in the works. If not, at the very least, I keep up on the news from Ballet West.  They’re definitely a company worth watching.