Stuff You Gotta Watch: Only When I Dance
For teenagers living in the poverty stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro, ballet offers a way out. The 2009 documentary Only When I Dance follows young Brazilian dancers Irlan Silva and Isabela Coracy as they leap towards a brighter future.
There are steep costs to attend the Centro de Dança Rio dance school, but families of prodigious talents do whatever it takes for their children to succeed. It’s heartwarming to see how proud Irlan’s father is to have his son’s name tattooed on his arm, while Isabela’s parents take on multiple jobs and predatory bank loans. At the finals of a competition in Switzerland, Irlan makes the risky choice to perform a solo paying tribute to legendary dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. This gamble pays off as Irlan wows the judges, eventually leading to his final destination in America, where he now performs with the Boston Ballet. Isabela also found her way to Ballet Black, an international dance company for POC performers. The dedication displayed by both is almost as astonishing as the ways in which they spin and soar on the stage.
Review by Jesse Locke. Check out the full archive of the Stuff You Gotta Watch column.