To Dance Like a Man 2012
Distributed by First Run Features, 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036; 212-243-0600
Produced by Sylvie Collier
Directed by Sylvie Collier
DVD , color, 58 min.
Jr. High - General Adult
Dance, Latin America, Child Development
Date Entered: 06/03/2014
Reviewed by Laura Jenemann, George Mason University Libraries, Fairfax, VAIn this fly-on-the-wall documentary, we meet Angel, César and Marcos. These three 11 year old boys are special—not just because they are all students in the world renown National Ballet School of Cuba, but also because they are identical triplets.
The three boys explain how when one sibling does something wrong, they all receive a collective correction. This insight into the universal experience of being treated like a triplet or even a sibling instead of an individual is dealt with a light touch, as is the entire film.
On the surface, the film documents how children training for professional dance or sports sacrifice childhood on a bet that they’ll become professionals. Yet the film provides glimpses of the frayed edges of modern Cuba. The ballet school is being repainted, the apartments are small, but the arts education is still state-sponsored. These glimpses remind us that To Dance Like a Man is set in a different land than the United States, or in the Canadian set of TuTu MUCH.
To Dance Like a Man isn’t about the history of Cuban ballet, or an exposé of professional ballet training, or an in depth study of the experience of being a triplet. It’s an easy-to-view combination of all three. For this reason, To Dance Like a Man is recommended for colleges and universities with performing arts or Latin American studies programs, as well as public libraries with popular documentaries on the arts.