Violette et Mr B.
Synopsis
Among her many claims to glory, Violette Verdy can include that she was a famous actress when only fifteen, becoming Jean-Louis Barrault’s partner for the production of “Malatesta” by Montherlant. An act she topped by becoming star dancer in Roland Petit’s “Le Loup, Dutilleux”. George Balanchine then invited her to join the New York City Ballet in 1958, where she created such ballets as “Tchaikovski Pas de deux”, “Jewels”, “Liebeslieder Walzer” and “Sonatine” among other masterpieces, and where Jerome Robbins created “Dances at a Gathering” and “In the Night” for her… Rolf Liebermann appointed her Dance Director at the Paris Opera (1976), and she then returned to the United States, where she radiantly conveyed the good word, the ‘beautiful gesture’ of her master, Mister B, as he is familiarly and respectfully known in ballet circles. Thirty years later, it is Balanchine’s neo-classic approach (with a foray into Robbins) that is the primal material for my film. Violette Verdy conducts master classes, based on the aforementioned ballets, with top-level dancers so that they can achieve the “Balanchine touch”, the secrets of which she knows firsthand. Like in my earlier films, the sequences of “Memoire pour le XXIème siècle” are mixed with biographical material, along with archival extracts which illustrate the subject.
Credits
Director (1)
Production and distribution (3)
- Executive Producer : Les Films du Prieuré
- Co-production : ARTE France
- French distribution : Les Films du Prieuré
Full credits (5)
- Executive Producer : Dominique Delouche
- Director of Photography : Jean-Claude Marisa
- Editor : Vincent Vierron
- Press Attachés (film) : André-Paul Ricci, Tony Arnoux
Media Gallery
Technical details
- Type : Feature film
- Genres : Documentary
- Sub-genre : Dance
- Production language : French
- Production country : France
- Original French-language productions : Unspecified
- Nationality : 100% French (France)
- Production year : 2001
- French release : 19/12/2001
- Runtime : 1 h 25 min
- Current status : Released
- Visa number : 100.236
- Visa issue date : 23/11/2001
- Approval : Unknown
- Production formats : 35mm
- Color type : Color
