First Position
2011 American film / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
First Position is a 2011 American documentary film. It follows six young dancers preparing for the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City, an annual competition for dancers ages 9–19 to earn a place at an elite ballet company or school. Directed by Bess Kargman, it features Michaela DePrince, Aran Bell, Gaya Bommer-Yemini, Miko Fogarty, Jules Fogarty, Joan Sebastian Zamora and Rebecca Houseknecht as they intensively train and prepare for what could be the turning point of their lives.
First Position | |
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Directed by | Bess Kargman |
Produced by | Bess Kargman |
Starring | Michaela DePrince Aran Bell Gaya Bommer-Yemini Miko Fogarty Jules Fogarty Joan Sebastian Zamora Rebecca Houseknecht Giuseppe Bausilio |
Cinematography | Nick Higgins |
Edited by | Kate Amend Bess Kargman |
Music by | Chris Hajian |
Production company | First Position Films |
Distributed by | Sundance Selects |
Release dates |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1,730,824 |
The title 'First Position' is taken from one of the five standard positions of the feet in classical ballet.
Kargman was a first-time director who had studied dance herself. "I ended up quitting my job to make this film, my first film, and I thought maybe by choosing a topic that was quite dear to me and that I had lived for a number of years growing up—maybe I’d be able to do this story justice."[1] The film features renowned dancers and choreographers from all over the world including Nadine Bommer,[2] Denys Ganio, Élisabeth Platel, Raymond Lukens, and Youth America Grand Prix's founder Larissa Saveliev.