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UofM Faculty Showcase Performing Arts Before the Pandemic in 鈥淎 Ballet Season鈥� Documentary
The documentary on the inner workings of Ballet Memphis will debut later this month on WKNO
March 8, 2021 鈥� When UofM faculty members David Goodman and Steven Ross first started work on 鈥淎 Ballet Season鈥� in 2018, the duo had no idea they would be telling the story of the last 鈥渘ormal鈥� ballet season for the foreseeable future.
"A Ballet Season," a feature-length documentary film covering Ballet Memphis鈥� most recent full season before the COVID-19 pandemic, will premier with a prime-time broadcast on WKNO at 8 p.m. on March 26. A repeat broadcast will air at 4 p.m. on March 28.
鈥淭his is a University of Memphis production, through and through,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淎lthough Ballet Memphis is the subject of our documentary, all choices as to the final form of the film were ours.鈥�
The film was created by Ross, professor emeritus with the Department of Communication and Film, and Goodman, assistant professor in the same department, alongside graduate student Nathan Chin and undergrad Kevin Wukasch.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been in post-production for quite some time,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淓ven though David and I had hoped for a live premiere screening either on campus or at a film festival, at this stage of the pandemic we are just happy to get the film out there for people to see.鈥�
After securing permission from Ballet Memphis to create a totally independent film, the filmmakers showed up repeatedly for more than a year to shoot upwards of 80 hours of footage.
鈥淓ven though we planned on covering the 2018-2019 season, we started filming earlier in 2018 to lay the groundwork for the documentary over the summer,鈥� Goodman said.
Ross credits these steady visits for building the trust of the dancers and staff as he and Goodman became eventual mainstays at the ballet company鈥檚 Overton Square headquarters and rehearsal spaces.
鈥淭hanks to our continued presence, we were able to earn the faith of both the staff and the dancers, which really helped secure this project,鈥� Ross said.
The film covers the production process of traditional ballets like 鈥淭he Nutcracker鈥� and more modern shows dealing with timely themes and subjects. It also chronicles the unexpected,
including injuries, and the retirements of the company鈥檚 unofficial prima ballerina Crystal Brothers and CEO and founding artistic director Dorothy Gunther Pugh.
鈥淭here was all this drama throughout the filming that you couldn鈥檛 quite anticipate,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e always believed that when you follow something for an extended period of time, something surprising is bound to happen. It鈥檚 called life.鈥�
In the lead-up to the film鈥檚 debut, Ross and Goodman will appear as guests on WKNO-FM鈥檚 Checking on the Arts with Kacky Walton on the afternoon of March 22 to discuss more details.