Dance beautifully lends itself to other art forms. Edgar Degas painted a series of masterpieces on ballet. The same was the focus of the wildly popular book, The Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild. The film industry has been equally prolific on producing dance-themed movies. From Billy Elliot to Black Swan, dance has provided an intense backdrop to some of the big screen’s most emotional stories. Dancers, in turn, are inspired by films which revolve on their chosen calling. In this series, Ballet Manila’s company artists share their thoughts on the dance movies that made an impact on them, that they relate to and which they have grown to love.
For Romeo Peralta, the 1985 film White Nights will always be his favorite dance movie. Directed by Taylor Hackford, the film credits include three of the most significant names in dance: Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines as the lead stars, and Twyla Tharp as the choreographer.
“It had two legends join forces in one movie!” Peralta enthused. “It had different styles of dancing (ballet, tap, modern dance). And the story was really good. It told the story of what was really happening to the Russian dancers at that time. It was really the story of Misha (Baryshnikov) who defected because he could not explore his art in Russia. Today, the countries are now open. They don’t need to do that.”
When asked about his favorite scene, his reply came quickly.
“That pirouette!” he said. “11 rubles, 11 pirouettes… and he was wearing leather shoes! He wasn’t even wearing ballet shoes!”
The scene was when Hines agreed to a bet with Baryshnikov who proposed to do seven pirouettes for seven rubles. The twist? Hines raised the bet to 11 rubles for 11 pirouettes and challenged him to “just spin” as he’ll take care of counting. Needless to say, the challenge was accepted and fulfilled with Baryshnikov walking away with the cash.
“Of course, another favorite was when Baryshnikov danced solo on stage. It’s all over YouTube!”
More than just entertainment, White Nights has inspired Peralta to be a better dancer and to work harder on his craft knowing that in some parts of the world, artists do not have the same luxury that he enjoys – to dance to his heart’s content.