First Position

It's a cut-throat world of ballet, where if you want to succeed, you gotta off your competition... well, okay, maybe not, but certainly you don't get out unscathed, as told in First Position.

This documentary follows six children, three boys and three girls, as they prepare for, and go through, ballet semi- and finals in hopes of getting awards and, more importantly, scholarships and other forms of money. We see their home life, and not all of them are doing ballet because their parents are frustrated and trying to live through their kids (not all of them...). They don't really have much in the way of lives outside of ballet, although their passion is such that this is really want they want to do, so that's what happens.

And let's not understate: they are damn impressive. This is extensive athletics they are performing, and demonstrate that during their performances in the semi- and finals. (The movie, of course, only presents people that get through to the finals.) However, in those finals... some may do better than others...

This is another in the 'kids performing in a specific genre' genre documentaries. And it's a decent one. But while we see kids who do well, there are a lot that don't...

[END]