The formula has been established. You can't make these types of documentaries work without focusing on the people so that's what this did. The dancing was fantastic. I don't know anything about dancing but I thought they all looked professional (movie or Broadway ready) and I'd be happy to hire any of them.
The problem was that the dancers weren't all that interesting or mature as people, and so I didn't care about them. Very stereotypical: the beautiful one who wants to be seen for more than her looks, the insecure gender-fluid one, the bullied late-bloomer, the brash, straight-forward one, the moody guy(s), the I-want-fame-at-all-costs one, the one with a tough upbringing...I did find Emily more interesting than the others. I wish her luck...
The formula needs adjustment as I wanted more. Yes you can be the best dancer in the world, but the viewers need more character development from the dancers. And I didn't see much progression (yes in the dancing but not much in terms of their development into well-rounded people).
The interviews didn't exactly portray them in a good light. More like needy--and many times--narcissistic babies. One boy while crying: "I know I like need to be better and like engage more with like the people around me but I like just don't know how to like do that?" Or Archer: "someone like looked at me like funny on the like subway and now I'm like feeling down." I heard 'Like" so many times, I almost didn't make it through all 5 episodes. Like OMG, for sure.
Cassie was indeed brilliant, but at one point they mentioned she was getting married. Yet she said something like her focus was 100% on her career. Well what happens when her husband starts to resent her international demanding career that requires travel and probably 60-80 hrs a week in town? Yet no one was raising any questions. I wish her luck in her marriage, but I worry about her perspective.
There was one girl who talked about using her talent as a vehicle for running some sort of business. I thought she was the smartest one of the bunch, as the reality of professional entertainment and sports careers are brutal:
-NFL: The avg QB career is 3 years. The avg WR career is 2 years. The average OL career is 3.5 years.
-NBA: avg 5-6 years.
-Broadway Dancer: avg wage of $34/hr or $70K/year. Try living on that in NYC.
-Hollywood Actor: avg pay of $51K in LA (2021)
And these are the top 1/2% of all athletes/actors/dancers because they have a career at all. But the famous Britney Spears choreographer lectured her implying that she wasn't dedicated enough. On the other hand, does the dance company implicitly (or explicitly) applaud Arabella for neglecting her academics; she has a spinal tumor that needs to be fixed, but if she does, it means she won't dance again. What will she do when her body gives out, as I'm sure it will? When she had a stress fracture at one point, she just popped a pain pill. (YIKES!! Was it a narcotic?) It was implied that she had nothing more than a high school diploma...and mediocre grades at that. I felt bad for her being encouraged (by someone-not sure who?) to put her eggs in one basket while knowing that that basket will fail sooner than later.
Episode 4 was supposed to feature the dancers yet it was boring as hell, and I fast-forwarded through most of the second half...blah blah blah, they're stressed and nervous. It means everything. Agents will be there. I'm sure I didn't miss anything...I hadn't heard anything revolutionary up to that point anyway.
I just felt like it could be much more inspiring but missed the mark.
The problem was that the dancers weren't all that interesting or mature as people, and so I didn't care about them. Very stereotypical: the beautiful one who wants to be seen for more than her looks, the insecure gender-fluid one, the bullied late-bloomer, the brash, straight-forward one, the moody guy(s), the I-want-fame-at-all-costs one, the one with a tough upbringing...I did find Emily more interesting than the others. I wish her luck...
The formula needs adjustment as I wanted more. Yes you can be the best dancer in the world, but the viewers need more character development from the dancers. And I didn't see much progression (yes in the dancing but not much in terms of their development into well-rounded people).
The interviews didn't exactly portray them in a good light. More like needy--and many times--narcissistic babies. One boy while crying: "I know I like need to be better and like engage more with like the people around me but I like just don't know how to like do that?" Or Archer: "someone like looked at me like funny on the like subway and now I'm like feeling down." I heard 'Like" so many times, I almost didn't make it through all 5 episodes. Like OMG, for sure.
Cassie was indeed brilliant, but at one point they mentioned she was getting married. Yet she said something like her focus was 100% on her career. Well what happens when her husband starts to resent her international demanding career that requires travel and probably 60-80 hrs a week in town? Yet no one was raising any questions. I wish her luck in her marriage, but I worry about her perspective.
There was one girl who talked about using her talent as a vehicle for running some sort of business. I thought she was the smartest one of the bunch, as the reality of professional entertainment and sports careers are brutal:
-NFL: The avg QB career is 3 years. The avg WR career is 2 years. The average OL career is 3.5 years.
-NBA: avg 5-6 years.
-Broadway Dancer: avg wage of $34/hr or $70K/year. Try living on that in NYC.
-Hollywood Actor: avg pay of $51K in LA (2021)
And these are the top 1/2% of all athletes/actors/dancers because they have a career at all. But the famous Britney Spears choreographer lectured her implying that she wasn't dedicated enough. On the other hand, does the dance company implicitly (or explicitly) applaud Arabella for neglecting her academics; she has a spinal tumor that needs to be fixed, but if she does, it means she won't dance again. What will she do when her body gives out, as I'm sure it will? When she had a stress fracture at one point, she just popped a pain pill. (YIKES!! Was it a narcotic?) It was implied that she had nothing more than a high school diploma...and mediocre grades at that. I felt bad for her being encouraged (by someone-not sure who?) to put her eggs in one basket while knowing that that basket will fail sooner than later.
Episode 4 was supposed to feature the dancers yet it was boring as hell, and I fast-forwarded through most of the second half...blah blah blah, they're stressed and nervous. It means everything. Agents will be there. I'm sure I didn't miss anything...I hadn't heard anything revolutionary up to that point anyway.
I just felt like it could be much more inspiring but missed the mark.