FIRST POSITION

Director Bess Kargman and subjects Aran Bell, pupil of former Paris Opera principal Denys Ganio, and Michaela DePrince (currently a student at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of ABT) will attend the screening. Q&A will with director Bess Kargman to follow the screening. This touching documentary follows six ballet students, aged 9-19, as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix, a top competition at which the world’s leading dance companies and schools prospect for new talent. Some of the delightful youngsters featured include Michaela DePrince, an orphan from Sierra Leone nurtured by her American mom; Aran Bell, a boy dance wonder from a US military family; and Joan Sebastian Zamor, a Colombian youth with aspirations for a career with a classical company. Winner of Jury Prize for Best Film at the San Francisco Documentary and the audience award at Doc NYC, this is arguably the best film on the subject of ballet competitions. Sundance Selects will release the film in the spring.