Veteran producer of documentaries Larissa Bills does an impressive job with this six-part documentary about the School of American Ballet, the school Balanchine started when he first came to America in 1934 and had difficulty finding dancers with the speed and attack he needed for his choreography. There is something of the style of Frederick Wiseman -- the fly on the wall -- but there is identification of everyone: teachers, parents and students. The darker sides are somewhat downplayed: those who are not promoted, those who have career-ending injuries, etc. The students who are interviewed are very articulate about their passion for ballet and the parents are very supportive, even though the students may come from far away and not get home often. I would have put more emphasis on the costs and the salaries (a check a student gets for a performance is displayed but the actual amounts are blurred), as well as the students who are dismissed or drop out. At one point in the school's history boys were admitted free, but that is not discussed and does not currently seem to be the case.
The teachers, headed by Chairman of Faculty Kay Mazzo, a former NYC Ballet dancer, are firm but gentle with the students, though as an amateur dancer myself I would like to have seen more than just snippets of actual classes. The series leads up to Balanchine's The Nutcracker, performed every December since 1954 and uses lots of students from the school in various supportive roles. The students in The Nutcracker are chosen by teachers Dena Abergel and Arch Higgins, who try to de-emphasize competition, i.e., some who don't get cast are too tall for some parts, others too short. After the triumphs of The Nutcracker in 2019 On Pointe ends on a melancholic note, as the annual older student workshop performance is canceled and the students head home, with classes continuing virtually.
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