Bringing Balanchine Back

Celebrated choreographer George Balanchine was born in St. Petersburg in 1904, studied at the local music conservatory and launched his career in Russia, before coming to America in 1933, where he became the cofounder and longtime ballet master of the New York City Ballet. Although widely recognized as having revolutionized the art of ballet, Balanchine received a mixed reception when he revisited his native land during the Soviet era. The same can't be said of his company, which made a trip to St. Petersburg's historic Mariinsky Theatre in 2003, performing works by Balanchine, his NYCB colleague Jerome Robbins, and current ballet master Peter Martins before rapturous audiences. Narrated by Kevin Kline, Bringing Balanchine Back incorporates substantial excerpts from the ballets, while also following members of the company as they prepare for their debuts, struggle with the theater's raised stage, and dance to orchestral performances conducted after short rehearsals by frantically peripatetic maestro Valery Gergiev. Bringing Balanchine Back offers a fine tribute to a major figure of 20th-century ballet, as well as a revealing portrait of how Russia's cultural attitude toward both expatriates and modern ballet has evolved in the 21st century. DVD extras include recollections from company members about Balanchine, an interview with Gergiev, and a brief tour of the Mariinsky. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)