Director Anne Bass presents an exhilarating cross-cultural portrait of Sokvannara “Sy” Sar, a young Cambodian temple dancer plucked from his homeland and trained in the U.S., where he has won a place as a soloist with Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) company, performing at dance festivals and in international competitions. The film is clearly a labor of love by Bass, a board member of the New York City Ballet who saw then 16-year-old Sar dancing at Angkor Wat and brought him to New York to audition for the NYCB school, even though Western dance was entirely unfamiliar to him and he would be far older than most beginning students. When Sar's admission was denied, Bass secured private lessons for him with the demanding Olga Kostritzky, with whom he progressed at an amazing rate over a three-year period, ultimately receiving the invitation to Seattle. Much of Dancing Across Borders shows Sar training with Kostritzky and rehearsing or performing in Seattle, in Bulgaria, and at a festival in Vail (where he dances to music by Philip Glass, with the composer himself at the piano). Also included is footage of Sar's return to Cambodia where he performs at the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh. Other interviewees include Sar's parents, Khmer dance teachers, and Peter Boal, artistic director of the PNB. DVD extras include solos by Sar, an interview with Bass, and a photo gallery. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Dancing Across Borders
(2010) 88 min. DVD: $27.95, Blu-ray: $34.99. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 26, Issue 2
Dancing Across Borders
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