For fans of dance; ballet and “inside” the game
stories, look no further than Random Media’s Aug. 8 DVD release of documentary
filmmaker Leslie Streit’s An American Ballet Story.
This is the story of Rebekah “Betty” Harkness, a
woman of eminence wealth and influence, who was not shy about using her vast
resources to finance her love for dance, including a love-and-break relationship
with Robert Joffrey of the famed Joffrey Ballet.
She backed him, his rise in prominence and then they
had a falling out over, well, let’s call it “creative” differences (ego) and she
pulled her funding … and lured away many of his dance troupe to her own Harness
Ballet company.
This break turned the established dance critics against
her, who never missed an opportunity to bash her productions. The company had its moments, folded in 1975
after about a decade and Harkness died in 1982 … the moment fades.
This is a fascinating look at the world of dance,
especially ballet, and how the business works.