In the documentary "Ballets Russes," dance defies its image as the most fragile of the arts, presenting a roster of the still vital old people who once gave ballet to America.
The surviving members of the fabled "Ballets Russes" - a theatrical force from the 1930s to the early 1960s - are now in their 70s, 80s and 90s. They are also astonishing, most of them still fit, still vigorous, still larger than life. Apparently, dancers age differently than other human beings, and better.

Directed and written by Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine, the film uses archival footage of the Ballets Russes in its glory days, as well as contemporary interviews with the dancers still living. The end result is a chronicle of almost unbelievable glamour, incubated in France and Monte Carlo, and brought to theatrical heights in the United States.

These dancers may be senior citizens, but they haven’t lost their joie de vivre or their individuality. The ballerinas have stylish clothes, hairstyles, makeup and some wear impressive jewelry. The men are trim and fit looking. Humor and wit abound in all of their reminiscences, along with a generous portion of eccentricity.

The Russian dancers include Irina Baronova, Nathalie Krassovska, Tatiana Riabouchinska, Tatiana Stepanova and Tamara Tchinarova. Among the men are Frederic Franklin, Marc Platt, Wakefield Poole and George Zoritch. As they discuss their days with Ballets Russes, they touch on the low pay, life on the road, the hard work and other difficulties. They also clearly treasure every moment they spent in the troupe.
Maria Tallchief, a star of somewhat later vintage, remembers her determination to join the company, after she was taken to one of its performances. Raven Wilkinson, an African American ballerina, describes touring with the company through the south and the night some sheet-garbed Ku Klux Klan members came on stage and demanded, "Where’s the nigger." None of the dancers replied, and the Klansmen went away, "and the backs of their necks really were red," Wilkinson says, laughing.

Two legendary choreographer-dancers spent time heading the company: Leonid Massine, a Russian master who electrified early audiences, and George Balanchine, who went on to became perhaps America’s greatest choreographer.
Anyone who loves the ballet will love this film; it’s that simple.

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