During school presentations in my high school, there was this girl who always participated in the programs by dancing ballet. I didn’t have an inkling if she was really a good ballet dancer or not, but she took my fancy every time she danced and twirled. Heck, I think the whole school was dreaming to be in her toe shoes and do the pirouettes and plies. For ordinary mortals like me who only knew how to sing a few songs and dance a few steps, she was the embodiment of a real princess—graceful and elegant. Besides she was the only one who could get away with wearing pink tutus and tights with matching tiara on the head, without being questioned of her sanity.
Her whirling image had stuck to my mind that I vowed to make my daughter the next Lisa Macuja. Ha ha. What a big failure in epic proportion trying to cajole her into wearing leotards. She fought tooth and nails not to be under the limelight, no matter how much push and shove I gave her. So my Russian ballet dream went up to smoke before it even started. I knew it wouldn’t do her any good if she was forced to do something against her will.
I’m not giving up hope though. Who knows. Maybe one of my future granddaughters will gladly put her hair back in a chignon and do a Swan Lake for me.
Movie Recall: The Black Swan (2010)
The Story: A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.
My Review: If you are expecting a sterile Disney interpretation of the Swan Lake, then you are in for a big shock. Prudes are advised not to take a peek at this film. This has catapulted Natalie Portman as Best Actress in the Oscars because of her seemless interpretation of a schizophrenic and obsessive dancer who only wants to be on top no matter what. This has got me thinking how some parents tend to overly push their children to excel without thinking of how this will affect their psyche. The ending sadly said it all.
Trivia:
Natalie Portman lost 20 pounds to look more like a ballerina.
Mila Kunis was brought into the project after co-star Natalie Portman suggested her to director Darren Aronofsky. Kunis had a video chat with Aronofsky via Skype and got the role without officially auditioning.
Natalie Portman revealed that director Darren Aronofsky would subtly try to pit her and Mila Kunis against each other during filming in an attempt to increase the on-screen tension between their characters. This included keeping the two actresses separated during filming and sending each of them intimidating text messages about each others performance that day.
Natalie Portman sustained a twisted rib during the filming of a dance sequence, and a full recovery took six weeks. During the filming of subsequent dance sequences, she was lifted from her arm pits rather than her sides to avoid repeating the injury.
The budget on this film was so tight that when star Natalie Portman had a rib dislocated during a lift and she called the producer for help. She was told that the budget was so low they had no medic. She stated that if they needed to cut items from the budget they could take away her trailer, instead of the medic. The next day her trailer was gone.
Nina's (Natalie Portman) harmful, compulsive skin picking is an actual impulse control disorder known to the medical profession as Dermatillomania, and may also be referred to as DMT or derm, Neurotic Excoriation, or CSP (Compulsive Skin Picking or Chronic Skin Picking).
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