"Tiny Pretty Things" Netflix

[dirac]

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

But the only reason someone would call a dancer "straight outta compton" is if the dancer is black.  It's a racist remark,  making assumptions about someone's background because she's black.  I'm not trying to beat up on you,  but tiptoeing around reality is not helpful.  The young lady who plays Neveah has said that every race-coded remark in the script has been said to her or about her in real life.  ("Neveah" is an odd choice for a black character.  That name,  which is "heaven" backwards,  is usually associated with working class whites.)

I don't know if Misty Copeland is the most famous ballerina in the US.  But her presence means that black dancers are not automatically excluded when a ballet themed story is being cast,  and that's a big plus.

I have no quarrel with anything you wrote here, except to note that for better or worse I wasn't doing any tiptoeing, just offering my offhand impressions of the show. I do think that if not for the example and high profile of Copeland,  Kylie Jefferson probably doesn't get cast,  and - I guess it has to be said outright and I should have done so, given the asperity of my OP - that casting is absolutely a Good Thing and also plausible, however contrived I think the series is in other respects. 

Pedant's Corner:  Neveah is not heaven spelled backwards - that would be Nevaeh.  Out of curiosity I looked up the Wikipedia entry, which is here, and for what it's worth, it does say that the name has, or had, some currency among the Black community, at least ten years ago or so (?)

[Helene]

There may be some Instagram and Tiktok dancers who are more famous than Copeland, but I don't know who could claim to be close, in North America, at least, between her mainsteam media interviews and profiles, outreach programs, and social media and ad presence.  Unless you count Natalie Portman.

[On Pointe]

Well Maria Khoreva is giving Copeland a run for the money.  She has dozens of videos on Youtube,   demonstrating technique as well as excerpts from her enormous repertoire,   and apparently has a promotional deal with Nike.  She speaks excellent English.  While Copeland is more known to the general public,  Khoreva is going after the bunheads first.

[Helene]

Khoreva is also working on a Zoom-enabled collaboratin with Twyla Tharp and three other dancers, which should bring her bigger name recognition, once American Masters airs.  But I doubt a small percentage of North Americans who would recognize Copeland's name now would be able to place Khoreva's.  But Copeland's name recognition goes far beyond her industry, which is niche here.

Good for Khoreva to get a Nike deal!

[pherank]

Copeland and Khoreva are different animals (so to speak). And I think their fan bases are going to continue be rather different.

No offense to Khoreva, but there's something awfully manufactured about her rise. She was a millennial who had the right Russian balletic look from an early age, who followed social media, and so she's been pushed in the media from day one.

[On Pointe]

Being active in social media requires a great deal of time and effort.  Establishing oneself as an "influencer" is harder than it looks.  (Although the payoff can be spectacular.). Khoreva is willing to do the work to elevate her brand.  As a dancer,  she,  like her younger sister,  has extraordinary facility and the "right stuff" physically,  from a Russian point of view.  But she has been given an extraordinary number of big roles for someone so young,  and while it's unfair to judge her strictly by her Youtube excerpts,  she strikes me as just scratching the surface of most of them.

[Drew]

On 1/3/2021 at 4:59 PM, On Pointe said:

 But she has been given an extraordinary number of big roles for someone so young,  and while it's unfair to judge her strictly by her Youtube excerpts,  she strikes me as just scratching the surface of most of them.

I've seen her twice in the theater (two Kennedy Center appearances) and I agree with this assessment.  Though I should add that I saw her in roles that at least don't demand much depth of characterization (Corsaire and a few months later Paquita) and I did enjoy the performances, especially the Paquita. In particular, I saw a lot of growth in terms of stage presence between the Corsaire and the Paquita. I also very much appreciated how easy and unforced her dancing looked. 

Of course the way she has been shot out of a cannon by the Mariinsky can't help but raise eyebrows, but I think I'm willing to call myself ...not yet a fan ...but a very well disposed member of the audience.

[Tapfan]

Misty is by far, more famous to the general public. In fact, one  reason that so many balletomanes feel so much  resentment towards  her, is that they believe her fame far exceeds her talent. 

[On Pointe]

On 1/4/2021 at 10:59 PM, Drew said:

I've seen her twice in the theater (two Kennedy Center appearances) and I agree with this assessment.  Though I should add that I saw her in roles that at least don't demand much depth of characterization (Corsaire and a few months later Paquita) and I did enjoy the performances, especially the Paquita. In particular, I saw a lot of growth in terms of stage presence between the Corsaire and the Paquita. I also very much appreciated how easy and unforced her dancing looked. 

Of course the way she has been shot out of a cannon by the Mariinsky can't help but raise eyebrows, but I think I'm willing to call myself ...not yet a fan ...but a very well disposed member of the audience.

Well I just saw a recent video of Khoreva as Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote and I was impressed by her performance.  She and her fans tend to post videos of her in roles where her youth and immaturity put her at a disadvantage,  like the Diamonds pas de deux.

 

13 hours ago, Tapfan said:

Misty is by far, more famous to the general public. In fact, one  reason that so many balletomanes feel so much  resentment towards  her, is that they believe her fame far exceeds her talent. 

There's a new game show on called The Chase where contestants pit their knowledge against three Jeopardy super champions.  When a contestant was asked who was considered " the first American prima ballerina",  he obviously didn't know the answer (Maria Tallchief according to the show),  but he shrugged his shoulders and said "Copeland".  I could just imagine the heads exploding throughout ballet land!

[Dancerboy90210]

"Tiny Pretty Things’ Falls for Big Ugly Ballet Stereotypes"

An interesting article in the NYTimes on Tiny Pretty Things and dance on film more generally. I think it is an interesting conversation, given the necessity of "delivering" dance to audiences in the absence of being able to perform live in theaters. 

If the goal is to attract the masses via film, I wonder how dance will be represented. I think we'll need pure "dance" performances (like shows in theaters), but also some combination of dance based acting shows (like Tiny Pretty Things or shows that are 75% dance/25% acting) to pull more people in. I've always had a strong reaction to cartoonish/stereotypical representations of ballet culture, but maybe its necessary (to some degree) to attract eyeballs... 

[dirac]

Thank you for posting, Dancerboy90210. Not long ago I read one of those 'What do dancers think of this-or-that-ballet-movie-or-series?" pieces.  One of the dancers quoted said he knew of real-life happenings like the incident in which a dancer is determined to go on in spite of sustaining a serious injury for fear of losing the role. Kourlas singles that out as a melodramatic touch. Interesting.

(I gave up on the show, myself.)