A Life for Ballet

Through the central romance between talented choreographer Pierre Lacotte and his muse Ghislaine Thesmar, filmmaker Marlene Ionesco paints a portrait of the story of ballet in the latter half of the twentieth century. The film features contemporary interviews as well as videos of ballet performances since the 1950s, many from productions shot for French television. Pierre Lacotte is an artist with a strong passion for all aspects of his craft as a dancer, choreographer and director; everything he does is calculated and well-researched. His youthful experiences under the instruction of important figures in ballet like Lioubov Egorova shaped his passion and education as a young dancer. Ghislaine Thesmar is similarly an extremely talented dancer with an unusual aptitude for dramatic performance. The success of her career offers a very worldly perspective to the film and she becomes the force that draws the narrative outside of France. By exploring exclusive archive footage, Ionesco captures a unique snapshot of this fascinating art form and couple.