On Pointe Review

It’s nothing you haven’t seen before

Rony Patra -

On Pointe Review
Platform
Disney+,Disney+ Hotstar
Format
Review
Movie Rated
Genre
DOCUMENTARY
Language
English

What is the story about?

This docuseries takes an intimate look at various students training at the School For American Ballet.

Analysis

Ballet is a brutal art form. You need enormous patience and practice to get to that level of perfection that most ballet dancers aspire to. And popular culture has shown this countless times—in Black Swan, John Wick 3, and even the recent Netflix series Tiny Pretty Things. This is why On Pointe feels rather dated. It shows, over the course of its six episodes, everything from insane practice to jealousy and rivalries. It doesn’t matter if this is non-fiction, but you get the feeling you’ve seen this many a time before. Also, because it’s Disney, you’ll only get a toned-down, family-friendly version of the rivalries. It’s intense, but also a little dull.

Music & Other Departments

Vanessa Carr and Nick Midwig keep the proceedings fresh with their camerawork. They adequately capture the grace of the dancers as they perform.

Highlights

Definitely the last episode, which shows students performing their heart out to The Nutcracker.

Drawbacks

The entire enterprise looks a bit jaded, even with the trademark Disney shine.

Did I enjoy it?

I found it okay.

Do I recommend it?

If you cannot get enough of ballet, you can give this a watch.


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