Dancing for Mr. B (1989) More at IMDb Pro »

This documentary is nice for a short rental and viewing. I found it very interesting as it shows the ballerinas "off stage"; as the appear in life. There ARE film clips of their performances during their years with George Balanchine- the Mr. B in the title- , but most of the documentary consists of interviews of these women at (presumably) their homes or offices. Their is some contemporary (circa 1989) footage of them in dance classes; either as ballerinas and/or teachers.

Of course, the main item of interest was Mr. B. However, a great deal of information about the lives of the ballerinas (not connected with Mr. B) is also shown. I find it interesting because it brings in a "third dimension" about the performer though too much of it could be distracting when the main focus is supposed to be on Mr. B himself. Of note are the comments about the first marriage of one of the ballerinas, Maria Tallchief. Her first husband was Mr. B himself! So, her personal memories are quite relevant to the story of Mr. B.

I find it a very good documentary; if you are familiar with these ballerinas and the story of George Balanchine. Otherwise you might (as I did when I first saw this over 11 years ago when I was not familiar with them) get lost and wonder what is all this about! If you are unfamiliar with Mr. B a better introduction is the documentary "Balanchine"; that came out in 2004- the centennial of his birth. This should be seen after you see that documentary.

Of interest is that though these ballerinas were all stars (lead ballerinas) they still looked up to George Balanchine. As Tallchief stated, he could choreograph dances for ballerinas that had them mainly "on point", even though he had never been on point himself. He was their teacher and you could see they were still in awe of him.