The Boston Globe - March 9, 1978
‘Theatre Street' a special celebration
THE CHILDREN OF THEATRE STREET - A film directed by Robert Dornhelm and Earle Mack, produced by Earle Mack, narrated by Princess Grace of Monaco. Allston Cinema, Rated G.
By Michael Blowen
Globe Correspondent
"The Children of Theatre Street" creates a joyous atmosphere within which the awesome formality of ballet becomes accessible to everyone capable of identifying with the eternal struggle for perfection. The cinematic flow of the film is surpassed only by the lyrical eloquence of its stars - the young dancers of the Kirov School in Leningrad.
This school, which trained Nijinsky, Nureyev, Pavlova, and Baryshnikov, receives thousands of applications each year for the 20 openings available. If a child is accepted, he must leave his family for eight years and enter a training that would make American sports superstars blush with embarrassment. Regardless of your moral views on this procedure, the results are breathtakingly precise.
The camera follows the students as their limbs are put through the arduous rigors that will eventually produce a body capable of exceptional feats. The tortured strain on a young boy's face, as he desperately attempts to control his leg extension, creates a perfect image of ballet's exquisite blend of art and athletics. The childish informality of a pillow fight becomes a wonderfully simple example of their bodies' natural expression.
Although "The Children of Theatre Street" was shot on location in Leningrad, the Soviet Union has banned it from public showing in that country. It seems that the ruling class objected to the inclusion of several defectors' names in the narration. The silliness of that decision is appropriately addressed within the apolitical nature of the film.
The narration is in perfect synchronization with the mood created by the dancers. Unlike most narrators, who are usually stubbornly pedantic, Princess Grace delivers the enlightening script with a proper hint of poetry in her voice.
"The Children of Theatre Street" does for ballet what the film "The Magic Flute" did for opera. Its quiet sensitivity cuts through political alliances; it softly destroys the popular myth that ballet is the esoteric province of the upper class.
