Anatomy of a Male Ballet Dancer (2017) Movie Script
[MARCELO] It's Marcelo
with one L
and Gomes with an S.
Are you ready?
- [MAN] For what?
- I'm ready.
I'm gonna fix
my name here cause...
It's spelled wrong.
It's with an S.
You may call me Marchelo,
I'm fine with that.
It's okay. I've been called
Marchelo for years.
And so, I'm used to it.
Um... but it's...
Gomes?
Then I have a little bit
of a problem with that.
Well, really,
it's Marcelo Gome-sch.
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] More than anything I
love to partner a ballerina on stage.
When you're partnering a ballerina,
you have to be in total control
but you also have
to let her shine.
I am not there for myself.
I am there for her.
You have to make sure that
you're breathing with your ballerina.
It's being connected
in that moment.
That's why I have such
good relationships
with so many ballerinas
because I do enjoy sharing
that moment with them.
[VERONIKA PART] I love
to dance with Marcelo.
It's not so many great guys
who can really dance and act
and partner ballerinas.
I'm a big and tall dancer.
The high standard
of Marcelo's partnering
is when you don't feel
how much your weight is.
[SLOW CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[MARCELO] I'm guesting the
Kremlin ballet production of Swan Lake.
Usually, I wear my costume
but for these shows in Athens,
I've had to borrow from friends
to see what the best option is.
[VERONIKA SIGHS]
It's okay.
Here, a bit right.
Yeah, I mean, I feel
a little bit like that
and look.
[VERONIKA] Short?
Like baby gap.
Like, I'm trying to fit
into my childhood clothes.
Well, but for second act
you have to be in black.
[VERONIKA] Well, black swan.
It's okay.
It's gold.
Well, if you feel more
comfortable in this, definitely...
Well, I don't wanna look like a
peasant in the middle of all the guys.
Cause they all have
like really nice shirts.
[VERONIKA] Yeah,
it's too simple.
Yeah, it's too simple.
[VERONIKA] Yeah, okay, we have
to look from a distance.
Oh, okay. That's too bad.
Go there.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
No, it's good.
[MARCELO] Really?
[VERONIKA] Yeah.
[MARCELO] Okay.
I think the thing that
is unique to Marcelo
is that he does everything well.
[KEVIN MCKENZIE]
He is Mr. Versatile.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
He has a remarkable ability
to cross genres,
and characters and type of dance
from Kylian to Petipa
[VIOLIN MUSIC PLAYING]
[ALEXEI] It's never about
himself, It's always about his partner
or the choreography or the role.
He is just an example of how
a ballet dancer
should behave, should act,
should be in a studio
and should be on stage.
[CELLO MUSIC PLAYING]
[CLINTON LUCKETT] The one dancer
to see an extraordinarily gifted partner,
an amazing actor,
and also, an extremely
fine technician.
To have all three
of those qualities
in one dancer
is very, very unusual.
[MARCELO] I've watched tapes
of Rudolf Nureyev,
Baryshnikov, Fernando Bujones
and Julio Bocca.
Those are all guys who have really
influenced me when I was in Brazil.
Somehow, my teacher
had tapes of them.
After ballet class, we'd go
to her house and watch them.
I needed to have
those guys to watch,
in order for me to...
...be inspired about my own
career.
I can't imagine not having
them, you know.
[CROWD MURMURING]
[MARCELO] I think when you are
young you dream of doing certain roles.
You know, Siegfried
in Swan Lake,
Basilio in Don Quixote,
Albrecht in Giselle,
Romeo in Romeo and Juliet
and Solor in La Bayadere.
Those are roles that
you really feel like
you want to tackle at
one point in your life.
The big classical roles
have a deadline.
You can't do these forever.
The career is short.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC EASES DOWN]
[FIDDLE PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[WATER RUNNING]
[WOMAN] Hello?
[MARCELO] My mother, every time she
can, she's here in New York visiting me.
Anytime I can, I want
to go to Manaus
and spend time with her.
Mm-hmm.
Even though
we don't speak every day,
there's that immediate
connection that we get
when we talk on
the phone or Skype.
[SKYPE MESSAGE SOUND]
Since my parents divorced,
I've been a lot closer
to my mother.
I don't feel like
there's still a father figure
in my life.
I think that my parents divorce
was a lot for him to take.
It could be just all to painful.
He has wife now,
another wife and a son...
...with her and...
It's a drastic
disconnection from
being the greatest father...
...you know, to...
...to being
Just Haroldo.
My father hasn't really
been up to New York
to see me dance,
probably, in ten years.
I started making myself
very depressed and miserable.
If I was expecting for
him to be in the audience.
[MARCELO SNIFFLING]
The approval from your family
is something so special.
[SNIFFING]
I want him to see me here
and for him to
hug me and say,
"Yes, you have made it.
All that stuff we went through
from the age of five years old,
that you were able
to play Romeo today."
That would be the ultimate gift.
[MARCELO] I joined American
Ballet Theatre in 1997
when I was seventeen years old.
ABT is such
a big part of my life.
[DOOR BUZZING]
[CLINTON] He's one of the first
that I have witnessed
really, really grow up from
a child to a full-grown adult
with his own identity
and make his own mark.
[MARCELO] I see myself dancing
as long as my body can take.
I think there will be one point
where it'll speak to me and say,
does this not what you want to be
doing anymore? Or it hurts too much?
[MARCELO] Go up. Good girl.
[CLINTON] Really high at
the back of the knee.
Ta, tee, easy...
Now, really high
at the back, yes.
Now, get you up
on your left hip.
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CLINTON] Left turn, left turn.
Yes, two, three, four...
Yee-yes!
[MARCELO GIGGLING]
That would be cool!
[CLINTON] Most dancers feel,
physically, at their highest peak,
I would say, in
their late twenties,
maybe their first couple
of years in the thirties.
And usually around 32 to 34,
you start to feel
the body can't do
everything that
you're asking of it.
[CLINTON] Left side,
That's it. Left arm.
Yes.
[UPTEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]
Good.
[MUSIC PICKS UP]
[CLINTON] Marcelo is right in
that golden moment
where he has
matured as an artist.
And his body is still completely
responsive and available to him.
[MUSIC STOPS]
[MARCELO EXHALES]
[MARCELO] Um...
I think...
I'd like to do
a third double tour there.
[MARCELO] What do you think?
[CLINTON] I'm an advocate of
the third double tour
just because nobody
ever does it anymore.
It's just a question
of negotiating those years.
Navigating them carefully.
The norm for any ballet dancer,
especially, male dancers,
is forty is about the limit
that the physique can take
that kind of high impact.
However, he has
a very strong body
and he has
a very intelligent mind.
He could beat the odds
and go beyond.
[MARCELO] Thank you,
that's so nice of you.
Daddy is working real hard.
Sugar Loaf.
Where?
Sugar Loaf.
Oh yeah.
[MARCELO] This is first time I'm
dancing in Rio in over ten years.
It's a big homecoming.
I'm dancing Don Quixote
with a ballerina I've just met.
[TRAFFIC NOISE]
[MARCELO] My ankle woke up a little
swollen this morning, so, I was worried.
When I get on stage
it feels okay.
It's after, when I close off.
[SPRAYING]
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] The role of Basilio
in Don Quixote is all about
the pirouettes and all
about the jumps.
We've seen many Basilios do
some really impressive tricks.
So, when you don't give
them all the tricks,
some audience members
may feel like they are not getting
the full value of the role.
The tricks get harder
as you get older.
[MUSIC STOPS]
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[EXCLAIMING IN PAIN]
As soon as I get home I ice
my ankle in an ice bucket.
It's excruciating
but it really helps.
I can do what I can do with it.
I know that there is something
kind of funny about it.
But...
I didn't think I could do even one
show and now, I've done three.
I grew up with my uncle,
Paulo, and his partner, Wulf.
So, they're both my uncles.
[WOMAN] Okay?
[EXHALES IN PAIN]
[EXHALES]
[DALAL ACHCAR] He has a
quality that is very rare. Very special.
He dances like a prince
and a gentleman.
He really knows that
a pas de deux
is a pas de deux, it's
a dance for two.
He is very generous and
he communicates as an artist.
And this has no price.
He looks to the eyes,
he gives something, he receives
and he builds from just a
simple pas de deux, a great ballet.
[MARCELO SIGHS]
[CLICKING]
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[UPTEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
It's like, almost, your whole
life flashes before you
when you are bowing for
a house that excited.
You know, and you're just like,
"Wow, I've just worked
so hard to get here
and this is why."
It's the applause.
The recognition.
Especially here,
especially at home.
[CHURCH BELL RINGING]
I was born in Manaus, Brazil.
In the heart of the Amazon
and I moved to Rio when
I was five years old.
For as long as I can
remember, that was me.
A young boy, no shoes,
just my black trunks.
And I would run all
the way to Copacabana
and jump right in the water.
So, this is where
it all started.
At the Illumicube,
which was at the end of
my neighborhood.
The streets at
the end of my neighborhood.
Going up to a favela.
And in this studio my sister
was taking gym class
and I came to pick her up.
And I ran right up there,
and there was a musical
theater class happening
and I just jumped right in.
In the middle of
a bunch of girls,
I told the teacher that I could
do whatever they were doing.
So, after two years
of musical theater,
Helena Lobato, she was an ex ballerina
of the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro.
And she saw me in
a performance that we had
and she told me
I needed to try ballet.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] The fact that
my family didn't blink twice
that I didn't wanna go to gym
class, that I didn't wanna play soccer,
and I wanted to be, with my
hand on the bar, doing plies,
is very unusual.
They could see, I think,
it was my calling.
Six months, when my brother was
six months, she started raising him
and then she saw my sister
be born and then myself.
She used to take me
to ballet class every day.
Yeah, yeah.
[MARCELO] After school,
I didn't even go home,
and I would change and
eat in the car on
the way to ballet class.
And she would be there.
[CHUCKLES] Bringing my lunch.
I didn't know
anything about ballet.
I was challenged.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[HAROLDO] I was called
at the school
to ask me if
I need some therapy.
A Brazilian wouldn't accept
to leave his kid to dance.
Dance is for girls.
I said, "I don't need therapy."
I know what I'm doing and
he knows what he's doing.
I'm just supporting him.
[MARCELO] Being the only boy
was a bit of a challenge.
I definitely got bullied
in school for dancing.
Girls do ballet and boys do
soccer, especially in Brazil.
But I knew ballet class
was where I needed to be.
I didn't let all those voices
from the young boys hurt me.
Something about being in the studio,
listening to music and dancing was everything.
I was in heaven.
[MARCELO GIGGLING]
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
[BOTH] Ooh.
[MARCELO] My dad was an incredible
influence in my life when I first started.
I don't think I would've kept
going when I was a teenager
if it wasn't for my father.
I promised him a lot of time
to go to New York, I didn't go
because of these personal
reasons that I had.
And he lost faith about me.
When I say I'm going to New York,
I'm gonna see you, he doesn't believe it.
He is right.
One day...
Maybe,
this year or next year,
I will go to the Metropolitan
to see Marcelo again.
You know, it's crazy, it's like,
all these feelings come back
because when I was
dropped off here at 13,
I was with my mom and dad
and I didn't speak any English,
and it was really scary.
It was like jumping into,
like a dark abyss. Really.
I remember driving down
this road and uh...
Yeah.
Just praying that everything
was gonna go okay. I think.
From there on, I knew that
I was saying goodbye to Marcelo.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
[MARCELO] It's good to see you.
You look good.
Thanks, the school looks great.
[MARCELO GASPS]
[MAN] I think you were thirteen.
Yes.
[MAN] You were half
the size you are now.
There is Robert and Philip.
Here's your first white swan.
Well, that's a good one there.
[MARCELO] This is amazing.
[GIGGLES]
Already had that feeling.
[MAN] There you go.
The feeling was there.
The technique.
[WOMAN] All right, so...
[MARCELO] There were
only two before me.
Now look how many people
have graduated.
[DOOR KNOCKING]
[MARCELO] Wow.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
They have TVs?
They have full on TVs.
We did not, we were not
allowed to have TVs.
The arabesque is not
gonna go up as high.
Anymore.
Is it because
of these pants maybe?
- [WOMAN] Oh yeah.
- It needs a change.
[LAUGHING]
I was, sorta,
like this. Little bit.
Maybe I was trying
to hold a balance.
I was like that, no?
I think so.
[GIRL] What're you dancing
tonight, Marcelo?
Today I'm dancing [INDISTINCT].
- [GIRL] Oh, you are? With Sara?
- Yeah.
Real Merry Christmas.
That's not beautiful.
It's cactus... [LAUGHS]
[WOMAN] Marcelo, there were
other Brazilians when you were here?
Or no? You were the first?
There were girls
that were Brazilians.
But no boys.
No boys. You were
the first boy.
Hey, sorry.
[MARCELO] Is this your room?
[BOY] Yeah.
Oh, come in.
No, no, no, Please,
this is your room.
Are you kidding?
[WOMAN] Then we have
to tell in English.
That makes me feel great.
[WOMAN] Yeah.
The year I graduated,
he was born.
Yeah.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
[WOMAN] One, two three.
Beautiful.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
[WOMAN] One more,
just in case. One, two, three.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] My parents saw
that I couldn't grow any further
if I had stayed in Brazil.
Technique-wise, culturally,
seeing different ballets, seeing different
dancers, seeing different art forms,
that I got when
I came to America.
As much as it hurt
them so badly,
I think they knew, looking
at this campus in Florida,
that they were doing
the right thing.
[BALLET MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
[OLIVIER] One of
the best ambassador
of the ballet in the world,
Mr. Marcelo Gomes.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
Thank you, let's take class.
[PIANO PLAYING]
Fifth position, please.
I didn't say you can relax.
Lifting, shoulders
down, chin up.
Keep your position. No bar.
Right. Remember everyone.
This is very important.
Why do I ask you to hold your
position at the end of the exercise?
Because if you can't do it
at the end of every exercise,
this going to happen on stage
at the end of evaluation.
Right? Thank you.
You can relax, everyone.
This is very important, guys.
This is ballet.
Nothing else.
[MARCELO] Listen to him, he
knows what he is talking about.
It starts in this place.
And it may not
matter to you now,
but it's incredible how
many times I think,
"Ah, Olivier used to say
that to me all the time."
And it's after the fact.
And so, enjoy it now.
Really do, okay?
All right.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
Gordon Wright asked me to
prepare Marcelo for Prix de Lausanne
Then things change a little bit.
You become a coach,
you become a mentor.
That means you don't help
your student only technically
but emotionally.
Which is, maybe, the most important
part when you go to a competition.
Right away after a few classes,
a lot of people came to see me,
and they all said the same thing,
his stage presence
is unbelievable.
When he's on stage,
even at this young age,
they say, "We cannot
take our eyes off him."
[MARCELO] I was extremely scared
to go to Prix de Lausanne.
I had never been exposed to
dancers from the Royal Ballet,
from Russia and I saw that
they had incredible technique.
So, I had to really
step up my game.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
That's the great thing about
Prix de Lausanne, it's not
the dancer that's ready
right then and there,
but the dancer that will give
hope to the future of ballet.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
The whole price at
the Prix de Lausanne
did change my career because it allowed
me to go to the Paris Opera ballet school.
American Ballet
Theatre was on tour
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
And I just happened to be there
to take a little vacation in between
United States and going to France.
They were doing a...
Bayadere, you know the
ballets that need extra boys.
So, I offered myself,
my services as a super,
as an extra on stage.
[KEVIN] At that time I had
an associate director,
his name was David Richardson.
By the time I arrived, he said,
"You know, I've got a super here
for this ballet who wants to take
the class, the company class."
I thought, oh great. Sure.
[MARCELO] I was doing this petit allegro
combination across the floor and Kevin
looked at David, he was standing
near the door, and he nodded his head.
And I just remember
thinking to myself,
"Could I be offered a contract
from American Ballet Theatre today?"
And it was exactly
what happened.
Marcelo was
very excited about this.
I was too but
before his vacation,
he had won the Prix de Lausanne
that gave him
a chance to go to Paris.
I knew that I had to join ABT.
I knew that I had to go
but I had this
scholarship ready
to go to Paris Opera Ballet.
So, I had very wise parents at that
moment that turned down the contract.
And he said,
"No, I appreciate it
but I'm going to go to Paris
Opera for my last year of training."
I thought, "Wow, that's smart."
[MARCELO] I experienced so many
things at the Paris Opera ballet school.
I not only grew as a dancer
but I also grew as a man.
They focused
so much on my technique.
They were very particular,
had very strict teachers.
Most of the time I didn't
understand what they were saying
because they were
only speaking French.
And so, I had to learn that very
quickly to be able to communicate.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
It was important here, for me.
Over all, an experience
of a lifetime.
[MUSIC CONTINUES]
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[PIANO PLAYING]
[MARCELO] We're going to be
learning a Nutcracker pas de deux
by Alexei Ratmansky.
It's probably one of the hardest
pas de deux I've ever had to dance.
There is a bit acting,
a bit of lifting, partnering,
a solo for the ladies
and a little solo for the men.
So, there is everything
compact in one thing.
So, she's in plie
and I offer the hand.
And I can see, I have
space in between her.
And she is on her leg
to do the penche.
I'm over here.
Are you guys watching?
Yeah? She goes up.
To attitude.
I have her here. You can do with
one hand, if your'e very comfortable.
If not, just two.
Then, you're gonna lean her out
a little bit off balance,
then you're gonna put her back.
I switch my hands before
I have to do that turn.
There's no way that
she's gonna turn by herself.
So, I have to have some kind
of whip here, you know.
I do the whip.
Then, she is on her leg
for me to switch to the hip,
so, she is in penche.
Yeah?
I'm gonna do the same.
This is already gonna turn her.
One time this way
and then up down.
You guys are the one
driving the car. Yeah?
And she's the one that can get
all lyrical and do her thing.
So, let's hear
from ta-da-da-ra...
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
One, two and three and four,
five, six, seven, eight, on one.
One, two and three and four,
five, six, seven, eight and one,
two, three, four, penche,
over, seven...
[JULIE KENT] It's been a natural gift for
him since he was a young young dancer.
He loves partnering
and he revels in it.
It's a joy for him.
So, it's a joy for me to be
the recipient of all the effort.
The enigma is that
the sign of a really good
partner is that your invisible.
If you can see that guy
making it work,
it's not a great thing.
I can
do whatever my body feels
and wants to do and I know
he's going to be there
and make me look good.
So, I'm fearless with him.
He does sacrifice
all of his ego, you know,
in order to serve
his girl. It's rare.
He has a moral, emotional
support that he brings
to his partnering,
which is truly exceptional.
You can't be selfish.
I think that's the best advice
that I can give you.
Everything that you do
is in order for your ballerina
to feel comfortable.
People are not
really looking like,
"Oh, how is he doing
that switch of the hand?"
If she falls off-point,
then it's something that
they're gonna notice.
Yeah?
So, for me, it's the most important
thing, a hundred percent, it's her.
You have to be able to
be completely humble
but also, you have to
be completely confident.
So, it's an opposition
that a lot of people
don't think about.
It's a tough thing to grasp.
But when you do,
it feels really, really good
because then,
you dance together.
I never think about partnering
as something that I will do
before I dance my variation.
I think about it as one.
[MARCELO] How are you?
[BLAINE HOVEN] Good.
[DOG BARKING]
Are you okay?
[MARCELO] Blaine is a dancer with ABT, and
he's one of my best friends in the company.
Why do I love dyeing my hair?
[MARCELO HUMMING]
[BLAINE] I'm thinking of
getting a perm.
[MARCELO] Do you?
[MARCELO] I like
your hair curly.
[BLAINE] Well, I'm accentuating
the curl a little bit, so,
it's gonna let you get
more pronounced.
Sir, would you like
some champagne?
Please.
[HAROLDO]
He's always different.
Very different from
any other boy.
He was different from
my older son.
I came out in a very big way.
I was on the cover of
The Advocate.
I didn't think that it was
gonna be such a big deal
but I guess it was.
I saw principle dancers
that were older than me,
look at me wide-eyed, saying,
"Oh, my God, aren't you scared
of the repercussions that this
might have with your fans,
with the people who
are coming to watch you?"
I said, "Absolutely not."
I'm still going to
be a man on stage.
I'm still going to play
Romeo and Onegin and,
you know, Conrad the Pirate.
And I'm not going to be
a homosexual pirate.
[CHUCKLES]
I'm gonna be a pretty
straight one, you know.
It's a role. I'm acting.
Everybody go, one, like,
altogether one cause sometimes,
it's a little slow
for some of you.
And, hup! That's good,
alright, nice. Good good.
[MARCELO] Sergei Danilian
asked me to choreograph
a piece for the Kings
of the Dance, which is
a tour of the top
male ballet dancers.
I still have a big
dancing career ahead of me,
but being creative and inspired
in the studio with dancers
is definitely something
that I want to do.
I'm certainly not the choreographer
that I will be in five years.
I have to start somewhere.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
I think that for me, what really is
important is to show the softness,
and how masculine both of those
things can be shown as a male dancer.
[DAVID HALLBERG] Marcelo has this
instinct of knowing how to carry the room.
When I see him choreographing,
it's not murky, it's not cloudy.
It's a clear vision.
It's amazing to see how he has
developed his own vocabulary.
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock the show in Kiev,
on October sixteen.
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock, rock, rock, the show
on October sixteen.
The date's kind of lame.
Gonna work with it,
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock the show in Kiev
on October sixteen
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock, rock, rock, the show
On October sixteen
On October sixteenth
Piece of dance
[GUILLAUME COTE] His concentration
is so present because he's so clever.
He's always one step
further than everyone else
and I do think that it's a quality that
every great choreographer needs to have.
And it's a quality
that he was born with.
So, I think he is born to be
a phenomenal choreographer.
[ALL HUMMING]
[HUMMING RISES AND STOPS]
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD CLAPPING AND CHEERING]
Yes, I do want to fall in love.
I would love to get married.
And I love children.
I think it's in me
to be a father.
I think I would be fun
but yet strict.
I would teach my kids
what ballet and dance has taught
me about commitment, about passion,
about going for something
like that in your life.
I, perhaps, wouldn't
lose track of my family.
I would want to be present in
my kid's life as they get older.
This is something that
I do not experience right now.
There is this incredible void
to know that your father is alive and
here, but he's not present in your life.
That's really tough
to deal with.
I've had some really incredible
performances here, in Russia.
The audiences, they...
They appreciate ballet.
They know ballet.
They are ballet fanatics.
Which is great for us.
But there is a certain amount
of pressure when you dance here.
[GRACEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DIRECTOR] Marcelo, would you
like to take some rosin into you palms?
[MARCELO] Yeah.
[MUSIC RESUMES]
[POLINA SEMIONOVA]
Marcelo partnering? This is the gift.
He knows, sometimes better
than I know, where I should be.
He feels the woman amazingly.
This is the most raked
that I've ever danced in.
It's pretty alarming,
even just looking at it.
When you look at it, it's wild,
it's a really big ramp.
When you're in the middle of
the stage, you don't feel it as much,
but when you're down by
the orchestra or up high,
then that's when
you feel it a lot.
Dancers that live here
are trained in raked stages
and the studios are raked and
so, they don't know any better.
Or they don't know
anything different.
So we tried it a couple of
times and what we need to do is
just take our time
to go up into the life.
Instead of rushing it.
Usually, it's not a problem
but I think, because of the rake,
it's a little bit
more challenging.
My costume is
a little bit uncomfortable.
I can't quite stretch my arms.
I can't lock my elbows, so,
I'm partnering her like this.
Which is harder to hold.
Also, her skirt has
a lot of tulle.
I'm not used to that much tulle.
So, it's a bit slippery
in my hands.
So, that's why I went
to put rosin on.
So, I just have to grab her
where I need to grab her
before it goes up.
Because then, once it goes up,
and I'm not in the right place,
then that's where
we land into trouble.
I would say that boys will
always, in all countries,
will be more difficult
to teach dance than girls.
Honestly, it's my opinion.
I know how hard it is
to find a good boy.
Right.
To teach them correctly,
and to keep him in ballet,
and to graduate and then
to help him go further.
They're very fortunate
to be here.
Thank you.
...Baryshnikov's costume
...and Nureyev's costume, he
also graduated from the school.
[WOMAN] Nijinsky's outfit.
Nijinsky, Balanchine
also graduated from here.
[MARCELO] Wow.
The Swan Lake, the Nutcracker
and the others were created here.
And they were rehearsed here,
composed here and produced here.
In this building.
Forty-three ballets
of Marius Petipa.
It's too much. I can't.
It's only ten minutes in.
So, the ballet stars like
Nijinsky, Nureyev, Baryshnikov...
They would come here
for rehearsing.
Pushkin's lesson with
Baryshnikov, It was in this room.
Right.
[INHALES]
Breathe in some inspiration.
Oh my God.
I am opening the 180th season
of the Mikhailovsky,
on a really raked stage.
What am I gonna do?
[MARCELO] For me, Giselle
is the ultimate ballet.
It's perfect.
It's a heart-wrenching story.
I care so much about this role.
Out of any classical role
and repertoire
it's the one that
I'm most dive-in.
[SLOW INSTRUMENTAL
MUSIC PLAYING]
If I had to choose a role to
dance for the very last time,
it would be Albrecht in Giselle.
[LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]
In that moment, in second act,
Albrecht is dancing for his life.
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
As Albrecht, I choose to do
the entre six,
when Myrtha tells him to.
To keep dancing.
I know how difficult they are but I
think its adds to that overall feeling,
of not being able
to stop dancing.
[ORCHESTRA MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
I'll see you in a bit.
[EXHALES IN PAIN]
[MARCELO] That was really scary.
I heard like a crack.
Like, during the show.
I think, maybe I'll just ice
it right away.
Yeah, last time, It was
this one on the rake.
In Don Quixote, remember?
[MARCELO] I've had
two surgeries.
The first one on my ligament
on my right ankle.
The second because I had
chronic tendinitis in my left knee.
I danced with both injuries
for a while before surgeries.
In order for it not to trigger,
so I'm much more aware.
Right. So, then,
in fifth position,
is it worse in the back,
than it is in the front?
Or does it...?
[JULIE] About the same?
[MARCELO] Fifth
is worst in the front.
Okay
Have you sprained this one?
More than the other one?
No, I sprained this one
a year ago.
But that one's different anyway,
because of your surgery.
[JULIE] And there?
[MARCELO] I feel
a little bit there.
So, that's more
the deltoid ligament.
Right.
A cortisone injection if
you can't get rid of that pain.
That will take the inflammation
down and, sort of, give you
a chance for that to go away.
And the other thing we can do
is the PRP type injection
to try and get it to boost
that healing process
to make it swell up again and
then that starts the scarring down.
Right.
If you're really not able
to get over this next phase,
- into full jumping...
- Okay.
Then we would
consider doing that.
[MARCELO] Injury is
the main thing
that affects a dancer's career.
What kind of injuries
and how serious they are.
It's amazing how much you can
push your body to do what you love.
In ballet, you have
to learn how to manage pain.
[JOEL PROUTY] Can you please
give me 20 push-ups.
[MARCELO] I'll be dancing La
Bayadere with the Tokyo Ballet in Japan.
[MARCELO] The role of Solor
in La Bayadere,
it's an extremely
taxing role to dance
because it has big dancing.
Big jumps, multiple
pirouettes, big leaps,
the double saut de basques,
the pas assemble, double tours,
going all the way down
to the floor, on the knee,
and then partnering
to ballerinas.
[JOEL] I think that
weight's good.
I think you gotta
get in front deeper.
[MARCELO] Uh-huh.
[JOEL] Okay?
If you were to life
a girl from down here,
you're not gonna wait till here
to do a dead shoulder press.
Especially, at the end of
the pas de deux.
Come on. Pick it up.
It's too late. It's too late. You're
not gonna make it through.
I can pick ten guys in
this room that can do this,
and no one can do what
you can do. Come on, let's go.
Bring it in. All the way up.
From the bottom.
Flatten this out. Up.
Yeah, baby. Good!
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Okay. I think we should
start, guys. Okay?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[MUSIC BEGINS AGAIN]
[MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[MARCELO] As you get older,
it takes more time to recover.
You can probably do
the performance
but it's the toll that
it takes on your body.
My father will never get
to see me dance this role.
But I hope he will come
to the Metropolitan in New York
to see me dance other roles
before I retire them.
I told Diana about
it being the last one, so.
Yeah, no, I'm excited.
Here we go. Tomorrow.
Let's do it.
Go out with a bang.
This foot can just fall off.
I think, in
the middle of the show.
Break, doesn't matter.
No, God forbid.
For me, the role of Solor in Bayadere
is the most difficult role to dance.
It's a beast to conquer.
Every male dancer
will tell you that.
It's a beast.
It's like,
mentally prepared, physically
prepared, everything.
Oh my Lord.
Just Bayadere, you know.
[EXHALES IN PAIN]
It hurts too much.
[MAN] Your ankles?
Yeah. Hurts my ankles a lot.
[MARCELO] Because
it's all in one leg.
It's all either pushing up from
the left or landing on the left.
Turning on the left.
So all the whole ballet's...
[MAN] On your left foot?
Yeah.
Feeling a bit emotional
about it, for sure.
Just 'cause...
I wanted to do it for so long.
You can't have fasted rehearsal
process and that's what takes the toll.
You have to practice the jumps,
you have to do the maneges,
you have to do cabrioles.
Once you've proven to yourself
that you can do it that way,
then, why take a step back
and make this a little bit easier?
Part of it is that my standards
are high for myself
but think that's a good thing.
I'm officially retiring
La Bayadere.
[MUSIC PLAYING,
PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[STEADY MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC HITS CRESCENDO]
[MUSIC SLOWS DOWN]
[MUSIC HITS CRESCENDO]
[MUSIC SLOWS DOWN]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[MUSIC BEGINS]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[MARCELO] Yeah.
Definitely.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Definitely.
[MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
Definitely.
That's why.
[MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
Yes!
It's a good way
to tie everything up.
Thanks, Helga.
You taught it to me first.
I know.
Remember?
- I remember.
- Yeah.
I remember.
It was a good one.
A good one to go out with.
I think.
It was very nice.
Diana and I are very connected.
That was the most
important thing for me.
It's bittersweet.
It's definitely bittersweet.
But I think I'll...
I'll leave with joy.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] Being the only boy
was a bit of a challenge.
I knew ballet class was
where I needed to be.
More than anything,
I love to partner a
ballerina on stage.
When you're
partnering a ballerina,
you have to be in total control.
But you also have
to let her shine.
The big classical roles
have a deadline.
I see myself dancing as long
as my body can take.
[PIANO MUSIC STOPS]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[UP-BEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
with one L
and Gomes with an S.
Are you ready?
- [MAN] For what?
- I'm ready.
I'm gonna fix
my name here cause...
It's spelled wrong.
It's with an S.
You may call me Marchelo,
I'm fine with that.
It's okay. I've been called
Marchelo for years.
And so, I'm used to it.
Um... but it's...
Gomes?
Then I have a little bit
of a problem with that.
Well, really,
it's Marcelo Gome-sch.
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] More than anything I
love to partner a ballerina on stage.
When you're partnering a ballerina,
you have to be in total control
but you also have
to let her shine.
I am not there for myself.
I am there for her.
You have to make sure that
you're breathing with your ballerina.
It's being connected
in that moment.
That's why I have such
good relationships
with so many ballerinas
because I do enjoy sharing
that moment with them.
[VERONIKA PART] I love
to dance with Marcelo.
It's not so many great guys
who can really dance and act
and partner ballerinas.
I'm a big and tall dancer.
The high standard
of Marcelo's partnering
is when you don't feel
how much your weight is.
[SLOW CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[MARCELO] I'm guesting the
Kremlin ballet production of Swan Lake.
Usually, I wear my costume
but for these shows in Athens,
I've had to borrow from friends
to see what the best option is.
[VERONIKA SIGHS]
It's okay.
Here, a bit right.
Yeah, I mean, I feel
a little bit like that
and look.
[VERONIKA] Short?
Like baby gap.
Like, I'm trying to fit
into my childhood clothes.
Well, but for second act
you have to be in black.
[VERONIKA] Well, black swan.
It's okay.
It's gold.
Well, if you feel more
comfortable in this, definitely...
Well, I don't wanna look like a
peasant in the middle of all the guys.
Cause they all have
like really nice shirts.
[VERONIKA] Yeah,
it's too simple.
Yeah, it's too simple.
[VERONIKA] Yeah, okay, we have
to look from a distance.
Oh, okay. That's too bad.
Go there.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
No, it's good.
[MARCELO] Really?
[VERONIKA] Yeah.
[MARCELO] Okay.
I think the thing that
is unique to Marcelo
is that he does everything well.
[KEVIN MCKENZIE]
He is Mr. Versatile.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
He has a remarkable ability
to cross genres,
and characters and type of dance
from Kylian to Petipa
[VIOLIN MUSIC PLAYING]
[ALEXEI] It's never about
himself, It's always about his partner
or the choreography or the role.
He is just an example of how
a ballet dancer
should behave, should act,
should be in a studio
and should be on stage.
[CELLO MUSIC PLAYING]
[CLINTON LUCKETT] The one dancer
to see an extraordinarily gifted partner,
an amazing actor,
and also, an extremely
fine technician.
To have all three
of those qualities
in one dancer
is very, very unusual.
[MARCELO] I've watched tapes
of Rudolf Nureyev,
Baryshnikov, Fernando Bujones
and Julio Bocca.
Those are all guys who have really
influenced me when I was in Brazil.
Somehow, my teacher
had tapes of them.
After ballet class, we'd go
to her house and watch them.
I needed to have
those guys to watch,
in order for me to...
...be inspired about my own
career.
I can't imagine not having
them, you know.
[CROWD MURMURING]
[MARCELO] I think when you are
young you dream of doing certain roles.
You know, Siegfried
in Swan Lake,
Basilio in Don Quixote,
Albrecht in Giselle,
Romeo in Romeo and Juliet
and Solor in La Bayadere.
Those are roles that
you really feel like
you want to tackle at
one point in your life.
The big classical roles
have a deadline.
You can't do these forever.
The career is short.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC EASES DOWN]
[FIDDLE PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[WATER RUNNING]
[WOMAN] Hello?
[MARCELO] My mother, every time she
can, she's here in New York visiting me.
Anytime I can, I want
to go to Manaus
and spend time with her.
Mm-hmm.
Even though
we don't speak every day,
there's that immediate
connection that we get
when we talk on
the phone or Skype.
[SKYPE MESSAGE SOUND]
Since my parents divorced,
I've been a lot closer
to my mother.
I don't feel like
there's still a father figure
in my life.
I think that my parents divorce
was a lot for him to take.
It could be just all to painful.
He has wife now,
another wife and a son...
...with her and...
It's a drastic
disconnection from
being the greatest father...
...you know, to...
...to being
Just Haroldo.
My father hasn't really
been up to New York
to see me dance,
probably, in ten years.
I started making myself
very depressed and miserable.
If I was expecting for
him to be in the audience.
[MARCELO SNIFFLING]
The approval from your family
is something so special.
[SNIFFING]
I want him to see me here
and for him to
hug me and say,
"Yes, you have made it.
All that stuff we went through
from the age of five years old,
that you were able
to play Romeo today."
That would be the ultimate gift.
[MARCELO] I joined American
Ballet Theatre in 1997
when I was seventeen years old.
ABT is such
a big part of my life.
[DOOR BUZZING]
[CLINTON] He's one of the first
that I have witnessed
really, really grow up from
a child to a full-grown adult
with his own identity
and make his own mark.
[MARCELO] I see myself dancing
as long as my body can take.
I think there will be one point
where it'll speak to me and say,
does this not what you want to be
doing anymore? Or it hurts too much?
[MARCELO] Go up. Good girl.
[CLINTON] Really high at
the back of the knee.
Ta, tee, easy...
Now, really high
at the back, yes.
Now, get you up
on your left hip.
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CLINTON] Left turn, left turn.
Yes, two, three, four...
Yee-yes!
[MARCELO GIGGLING]
That would be cool!
[CLINTON] Most dancers feel,
physically, at their highest peak,
I would say, in
their late twenties,
maybe their first couple
of years in the thirties.
And usually around 32 to 34,
you start to feel
the body can't do
everything that
you're asking of it.
[CLINTON] Left side,
That's it. Left arm.
Yes.
[UPTEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]
Good.
[MUSIC PICKS UP]
[CLINTON] Marcelo is right in
that golden moment
where he has
matured as an artist.
And his body is still completely
responsive and available to him.
[MUSIC STOPS]
[MARCELO EXHALES]
[MARCELO] Um...
I think...
I'd like to do
a third double tour there.
[MARCELO] What do you think?
[CLINTON] I'm an advocate of
the third double tour
just because nobody
ever does it anymore.
It's just a question
of negotiating those years.
Navigating them carefully.
The norm for any ballet dancer,
especially, male dancers,
is forty is about the limit
that the physique can take
that kind of high impact.
However, he has
a very strong body
and he has
a very intelligent mind.
He could beat the odds
and go beyond.
[MARCELO] Thank you,
that's so nice of you.
Daddy is working real hard.
Sugar Loaf.
Where?
Sugar Loaf.
Oh yeah.
[MARCELO] This is first time I'm
dancing in Rio in over ten years.
It's a big homecoming.
I'm dancing Don Quixote
with a ballerina I've just met.
[TRAFFIC NOISE]
[MARCELO] My ankle woke up a little
swollen this morning, so, I was worried.
When I get on stage
it feels okay.
It's after, when I close off.
[SPRAYING]
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] The role of Basilio
in Don Quixote is all about
the pirouettes and all
about the jumps.
We've seen many Basilios do
some really impressive tricks.
So, when you don't give
them all the tricks,
some audience members
may feel like they are not getting
the full value of the role.
The tricks get harder
as you get older.
[MUSIC STOPS]
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[EXCLAIMING IN PAIN]
As soon as I get home I ice
my ankle in an ice bucket.
It's excruciating
but it really helps.
I can do what I can do with it.
I know that there is something
kind of funny about it.
But...
I didn't think I could do even one
show and now, I've done three.
I grew up with my uncle,
Paulo, and his partner, Wulf.
So, they're both my uncles.
[WOMAN] Okay?
[EXHALES IN PAIN]
[EXHALES]
[DALAL ACHCAR] He has a
quality that is very rare. Very special.
He dances like a prince
and a gentleman.
He really knows that
a pas de deux
is a pas de deux, it's
a dance for two.
He is very generous and
he communicates as an artist.
And this has no price.
He looks to the eyes,
he gives something, he receives
and he builds from just a
simple pas de deux, a great ballet.
[MARCELO SIGHS]
[CLICKING]
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[UPTEMPO MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
It's like, almost, your whole
life flashes before you
when you are bowing for
a house that excited.
You know, and you're just like,
"Wow, I've just worked
so hard to get here
and this is why."
It's the applause.
The recognition.
Especially here,
especially at home.
[CHURCH BELL RINGING]
I was born in Manaus, Brazil.
In the heart of the Amazon
and I moved to Rio when
I was five years old.
For as long as I can
remember, that was me.
A young boy, no shoes,
just my black trunks.
And I would run all
the way to Copacabana
and jump right in the water.
So, this is where
it all started.
At the Illumicube,
which was at the end of
my neighborhood.
The streets at
the end of my neighborhood.
Going up to a favela.
And in this studio my sister
was taking gym class
and I came to pick her up.
And I ran right up there,
and there was a musical
theater class happening
and I just jumped right in.
In the middle of
a bunch of girls,
I told the teacher that I could
do whatever they were doing.
So, after two years
of musical theater,
Helena Lobato, she was an ex ballerina
of the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro.
And she saw me in
a performance that we had
and she told me
I needed to try ballet.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] The fact that
my family didn't blink twice
that I didn't wanna go to gym
class, that I didn't wanna play soccer,
and I wanted to be, with my
hand on the bar, doing plies,
is very unusual.
They could see, I think,
it was my calling.
Six months, when my brother was
six months, she started raising him
and then she saw my sister
be born and then myself.
She used to take me
to ballet class every day.
Yeah, yeah.
[MARCELO] After school,
I didn't even go home,
and I would change and
eat in the car on
the way to ballet class.
And she would be there.
[CHUCKLES] Bringing my lunch.
I didn't know
anything about ballet.
I was challenged.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[HAROLDO] I was called
at the school
to ask me if
I need some therapy.
A Brazilian wouldn't accept
to leave his kid to dance.
Dance is for girls.
I said, "I don't need therapy."
I know what I'm doing and
he knows what he's doing.
I'm just supporting him.
[MARCELO] Being the only boy
was a bit of a challenge.
I definitely got bullied
in school for dancing.
Girls do ballet and boys do
soccer, especially in Brazil.
But I knew ballet class
was where I needed to be.
I didn't let all those voices
from the young boys hurt me.
Something about being in the studio,
listening to music and dancing was everything.
I was in heaven.
[MARCELO GIGGLING]
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
[BOTH] Ooh.
[MARCELO] My dad was an incredible
influence in my life when I first started.
I don't think I would've kept
going when I was a teenager
if it wasn't for my father.
I promised him a lot of time
to go to New York, I didn't go
because of these personal
reasons that I had.
And he lost faith about me.
When I say I'm going to New York,
I'm gonna see you, he doesn't believe it.
He is right.
One day...
Maybe,
this year or next year,
I will go to the Metropolitan
to see Marcelo again.
You know, it's crazy, it's like,
all these feelings come back
because when I was
dropped off here at 13,
I was with my mom and dad
and I didn't speak any English,
and it was really scary.
It was like jumping into,
like a dark abyss. Really.
I remember driving down
this road and uh...
Yeah.
Just praying that everything
was gonna go okay. I think.
From there on, I knew that
I was saying goodbye to Marcelo.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
[MARCELO] It's good to see you.
You look good.
Thanks, the school looks great.
[MARCELO GASPS]
[MAN] I think you were thirteen.
Yes.
[MAN] You were half
the size you are now.
There is Robert and Philip.
Here's your first white swan.
Well, that's a good one there.
[MARCELO] This is amazing.
[GIGGLES]
Already had that feeling.
[MAN] There you go.
The feeling was there.
The technique.
[WOMAN] All right, so...
[MARCELO] There were
only two before me.
Now look how many people
have graduated.
[DOOR KNOCKING]
[MARCELO] Wow.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
They have TVs?
They have full on TVs.
We did not, we were not
allowed to have TVs.
The arabesque is not
gonna go up as high.
Anymore.
Is it because
of these pants maybe?
- [WOMAN] Oh yeah.
- It needs a change.
[LAUGHING]
I was, sorta,
like this. Little bit.
Maybe I was trying
to hold a balance.
I was like that, no?
I think so.
[GIRL] What're you dancing
tonight, Marcelo?
Today I'm dancing [INDISTINCT].
- [GIRL] Oh, you are? With Sara?
- Yeah.
Real Merry Christmas.
That's not beautiful.
It's cactus... [LAUGHS]
[WOMAN] Marcelo, there were
other Brazilians when you were here?
Or no? You were the first?
There were girls
that were Brazilians.
But no boys.
No boys. You were
the first boy.
Hey, sorry.
[MARCELO] Is this your room?
[BOY] Yeah.
Oh, come in.
No, no, no, Please,
this is your room.
Are you kidding?
[WOMAN] Then we have
to tell in English.
That makes me feel great.
[WOMAN] Yeah.
The year I graduated,
he was born.
Yeah.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
[WOMAN] One, two three.
Beautiful.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
[WOMAN] One more,
just in case. One, two, three.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] My parents saw
that I couldn't grow any further
if I had stayed in Brazil.
Technique-wise, culturally,
seeing different ballets, seeing different
dancers, seeing different art forms,
that I got when
I came to America.
As much as it hurt
them so badly,
I think they knew, looking
at this campus in Florida,
that they were doing
the right thing.
[BALLET MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
[OLIVIER] One of
the best ambassador
of the ballet in the world,
Mr. Marcelo Gomes.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
Thank you, let's take class.
[PIANO PLAYING]
Fifth position, please.
I didn't say you can relax.
Lifting, shoulders
down, chin up.
Keep your position. No bar.
Right. Remember everyone.
This is very important.
Why do I ask you to hold your
position at the end of the exercise?
Because if you can't do it
at the end of every exercise,
this going to happen on stage
at the end of evaluation.
Right? Thank you.
You can relax, everyone.
This is very important, guys.
This is ballet.
Nothing else.
[MARCELO] Listen to him, he
knows what he is talking about.
It starts in this place.
And it may not
matter to you now,
but it's incredible how
many times I think,
"Ah, Olivier used to say
that to me all the time."
And it's after the fact.
And so, enjoy it now.
Really do, okay?
All right.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
Gordon Wright asked me to
prepare Marcelo for Prix de Lausanne
Then things change a little bit.
You become a coach,
you become a mentor.
That means you don't help
your student only technically
but emotionally.
Which is, maybe, the most important
part when you go to a competition.
Right away after a few classes,
a lot of people came to see me,
and they all said the same thing,
his stage presence
is unbelievable.
When he's on stage,
even at this young age,
they say, "We cannot
take our eyes off him."
[MARCELO] I was extremely scared
to go to Prix de Lausanne.
I had never been exposed to
dancers from the Royal Ballet,
from Russia and I saw that
they had incredible technique.
So, I had to really
step up my game.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
That's the great thing about
Prix de Lausanne, it's not
the dancer that's ready
right then and there,
but the dancer that will give
hope to the future of ballet.
[CROWD CLAPPING]
The whole price at
the Prix de Lausanne
did change my career because it allowed
me to go to the Paris Opera ballet school.
American Ballet
Theatre was on tour
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
And I just happened to be there
to take a little vacation in between
United States and going to France.
They were doing a...
Bayadere, you know the
ballets that need extra boys.
So, I offered myself,
my services as a super,
as an extra on stage.
[KEVIN] At that time I had
an associate director,
his name was David Richardson.
By the time I arrived, he said,
"You know, I've got a super here
for this ballet who wants to take
the class, the company class."
I thought, oh great. Sure.
[MARCELO] I was doing this petit allegro
combination across the floor and Kevin
looked at David, he was standing
near the door, and he nodded his head.
And I just remember
thinking to myself,
"Could I be offered a contract
from American Ballet Theatre today?"
And it was exactly
what happened.
Marcelo was
very excited about this.
I was too but
before his vacation,
he had won the Prix de Lausanne
that gave him
a chance to go to Paris.
I knew that I had to join ABT.
I knew that I had to go
but I had this
scholarship ready
to go to Paris Opera Ballet.
So, I had very wise parents at that
moment that turned down the contract.
And he said,
"No, I appreciate it
but I'm going to go to Paris
Opera for my last year of training."
I thought, "Wow, that's smart."
[MARCELO] I experienced so many
things at the Paris Opera ballet school.
I not only grew as a dancer
but I also grew as a man.
They focused
so much on my technique.
They were very particular,
had very strict teachers.
Most of the time I didn't
understand what they were saying
because they were
only speaking French.
And so, I had to learn that very
quickly to be able to communicate.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
It was important here, for me.
Over all, an experience
of a lifetime.
[MUSIC CONTINUES]
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[PIANO PLAYING]
[MARCELO] We're going to be
learning a Nutcracker pas de deux
by Alexei Ratmansky.
It's probably one of the hardest
pas de deux I've ever had to dance.
There is a bit acting,
a bit of lifting, partnering,
a solo for the ladies
and a little solo for the men.
So, there is everything
compact in one thing.
So, she's in plie
and I offer the hand.
And I can see, I have
space in between her.
And she is on her leg
to do the penche.
I'm over here.
Are you guys watching?
Yeah? She goes up.
To attitude.
I have her here. You can do with
one hand, if your'e very comfortable.
If not, just two.
Then, you're gonna lean her out
a little bit off balance,
then you're gonna put her back.
I switch my hands before
I have to do that turn.
There's no way that
she's gonna turn by herself.
So, I have to have some kind
of whip here, you know.
I do the whip.
Then, she is on her leg
for me to switch to the hip,
so, she is in penche.
Yeah?
I'm gonna do the same.
This is already gonna turn her.
One time this way
and then up down.
You guys are the one
driving the car. Yeah?
And she's the one that can get
all lyrical and do her thing.
So, let's hear
from ta-da-da-ra...
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
One, two and three and four,
five, six, seven, eight, on one.
One, two and three and four,
five, six, seven, eight and one,
two, three, four, penche,
over, seven...
[JULIE KENT] It's been a natural gift for
him since he was a young young dancer.
He loves partnering
and he revels in it.
It's a joy for him.
So, it's a joy for me to be
the recipient of all the effort.
The enigma is that
the sign of a really good
partner is that your invisible.
If you can see that guy
making it work,
it's not a great thing.
I can
do whatever my body feels
and wants to do and I know
he's going to be there
and make me look good.
So, I'm fearless with him.
He does sacrifice
all of his ego, you know,
in order to serve
his girl. It's rare.
He has a moral, emotional
support that he brings
to his partnering,
which is truly exceptional.
You can't be selfish.
I think that's the best advice
that I can give you.
Everything that you do
is in order for your ballerina
to feel comfortable.
People are not
really looking like,
"Oh, how is he doing
that switch of the hand?"
If she falls off-point,
then it's something that
they're gonna notice.
Yeah?
So, for me, it's the most important
thing, a hundred percent, it's her.
You have to be able to
be completely humble
but also, you have to
be completely confident.
So, it's an opposition
that a lot of people
don't think about.
It's a tough thing to grasp.
But when you do,
it feels really, really good
because then,
you dance together.
I never think about partnering
as something that I will do
before I dance my variation.
I think about it as one.
[MARCELO] How are you?
[BLAINE HOVEN] Good.
[DOG BARKING]
Are you okay?
[MARCELO] Blaine is a dancer with ABT, and
he's one of my best friends in the company.
Why do I love dyeing my hair?
[MARCELO HUMMING]
[BLAINE] I'm thinking of
getting a perm.
[MARCELO] Do you?
[MARCELO] I like
your hair curly.
[BLAINE] Well, I'm accentuating
the curl a little bit, so,
it's gonna let you get
more pronounced.
Sir, would you like
some champagne?
Please.
[HAROLDO]
He's always different.
Very different from
any other boy.
He was different from
my older son.
I came out in a very big way.
I was on the cover of
The Advocate.
I didn't think that it was
gonna be such a big deal
but I guess it was.
I saw principle dancers
that were older than me,
look at me wide-eyed, saying,
"Oh, my God, aren't you scared
of the repercussions that this
might have with your fans,
with the people who
are coming to watch you?"
I said, "Absolutely not."
I'm still going to
be a man on stage.
I'm still going to play
Romeo and Onegin and,
you know, Conrad the Pirate.
And I'm not going to be
a homosexual pirate.
[CHUCKLES]
I'm gonna be a pretty
straight one, you know.
It's a role. I'm acting.
Everybody go, one, like,
altogether one cause sometimes,
it's a little slow
for some of you.
And, hup! That's good,
alright, nice. Good good.
[MARCELO] Sergei Danilian
asked me to choreograph
a piece for the Kings
of the Dance, which is
a tour of the top
male ballet dancers.
I still have a big
dancing career ahead of me,
but being creative and inspired
in the studio with dancers
is definitely something
that I want to do.
I'm certainly not the choreographer
that I will be in five years.
I have to start somewhere.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
I think that for me, what really is
important is to show the softness,
and how masculine both of those
things can be shown as a male dancer.
[DAVID HALLBERG] Marcelo has this
instinct of knowing how to carry the room.
When I see him choreographing,
it's not murky, it's not cloudy.
It's a clear vision.
It's amazing to see how he has
developed his own vocabulary.
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock the show in Kiev,
on October sixteen.
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock, rock, rock, the show
on October sixteen.
The date's kind of lame.
Gonna work with it,
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock the show in Kiev
on October sixteen
Kings of Dance, we're gonna
rock, rock, rock, the show
On October sixteen
On October sixteenth
Piece of dance
[GUILLAUME COTE] His concentration
is so present because he's so clever.
He's always one step
further than everyone else
and I do think that it's a quality that
every great choreographer needs to have.
And it's a quality
that he was born with.
So, I think he is born to be
a phenomenal choreographer.
[ALL HUMMING]
[HUMMING RISES AND STOPS]
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD CLAPPING AND CHEERING]
Yes, I do want to fall in love.
I would love to get married.
And I love children.
I think it's in me
to be a father.
I think I would be fun
but yet strict.
I would teach my kids
what ballet and dance has taught
me about commitment, about passion,
about going for something
like that in your life.
I, perhaps, wouldn't
lose track of my family.
I would want to be present in
my kid's life as they get older.
This is something that
I do not experience right now.
There is this incredible void
to know that your father is alive and
here, but he's not present in your life.
That's really tough
to deal with.
I've had some really incredible
performances here, in Russia.
The audiences, they...
They appreciate ballet.
They know ballet.
They are ballet fanatics.
Which is great for us.
But there is a certain amount
of pressure when you dance here.
[GRACEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DIRECTOR] Marcelo, would you
like to take some rosin into you palms?
[MARCELO] Yeah.
[MUSIC RESUMES]
[POLINA SEMIONOVA]
Marcelo partnering? This is the gift.
He knows, sometimes better
than I know, where I should be.
He feels the woman amazingly.
This is the most raked
that I've ever danced in.
It's pretty alarming,
even just looking at it.
When you look at it, it's wild,
it's a really big ramp.
When you're in the middle of
the stage, you don't feel it as much,
but when you're down by
the orchestra or up high,
then that's when
you feel it a lot.
Dancers that live here
are trained in raked stages
and the studios are raked and
so, they don't know any better.
Or they don't know
anything different.
So we tried it a couple of
times and what we need to do is
just take our time
to go up into the life.
Instead of rushing it.
Usually, it's not a problem
but I think, because of the rake,
it's a little bit
more challenging.
My costume is
a little bit uncomfortable.
I can't quite stretch my arms.
I can't lock my elbows, so,
I'm partnering her like this.
Which is harder to hold.
Also, her skirt has
a lot of tulle.
I'm not used to that much tulle.
So, it's a bit slippery
in my hands.
So, that's why I went
to put rosin on.
So, I just have to grab her
where I need to grab her
before it goes up.
Because then, once it goes up,
and I'm not in the right place,
then that's where
we land into trouble.
I would say that boys will
always, in all countries,
will be more difficult
to teach dance than girls.
Honestly, it's my opinion.
I know how hard it is
to find a good boy.
Right.
To teach them correctly,
and to keep him in ballet,
and to graduate and then
to help him go further.
They're very fortunate
to be here.
Thank you.
...Baryshnikov's costume
...and Nureyev's costume, he
also graduated from the school.
[WOMAN] Nijinsky's outfit.
Nijinsky, Balanchine
also graduated from here.
[MARCELO] Wow.
The Swan Lake, the Nutcracker
and the others were created here.
And they were rehearsed here,
composed here and produced here.
In this building.
Forty-three ballets
of Marius Petipa.
It's too much. I can't.
It's only ten minutes in.
So, the ballet stars like
Nijinsky, Nureyev, Baryshnikov...
They would come here
for rehearsing.
Pushkin's lesson with
Baryshnikov, It was in this room.
Right.
[INHALES]
Breathe in some inspiration.
Oh my God.
I am opening the 180th season
of the Mikhailovsky,
on a really raked stage.
What am I gonna do?
[MARCELO] For me, Giselle
is the ultimate ballet.
It's perfect.
It's a heart-wrenching story.
I care so much about this role.
Out of any classical role
and repertoire
it's the one that
I'm most dive-in.
[SLOW INSTRUMENTAL
MUSIC PLAYING]
If I had to choose a role to
dance for the very last time,
it would be Albrecht in Giselle.
[LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]
In that moment, in second act,
Albrecht is dancing for his life.
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
As Albrecht, I choose to do
the entre six,
when Myrtha tells him to.
To keep dancing.
I know how difficult they are but I
think its adds to that overall feeling,
of not being able
to stop dancing.
[ORCHESTRA MUSIC PLAYING]
[CROWD CLAPPING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
I'll see you in a bit.
[EXHALES IN PAIN]
[MARCELO] That was really scary.
I heard like a crack.
Like, during the show.
I think, maybe I'll just ice
it right away.
Yeah, last time, It was
this one on the rake.
In Don Quixote, remember?
[MARCELO] I've had
two surgeries.
The first one on my ligament
on my right ankle.
The second because I had
chronic tendinitis in my left knee.
I danced with both injuries
for a while before surgeries.
In order for it not to trigger,
so I'm much more aware.
Right. So, then,
in fifth position,
is it worse in the back,
than it is in the front?
Or does it...?
[JULIE] About the same?
[MARCELO] Fifth
is worst in the front.
Okay
Have you sprained this one?
More than the other one?
No, I sprained this one
a year ago.
But that one's different anyway,
because of your surgery.
[JULIE] And there?
[MARCELO] I feel
a little bit there.
So, that's more
the deltoid ligament.
Right.
A cortisone injection if
you can't get rid of that pain.
That will take the inflammation
down and, sort of, give you
a chance for that to go away.
And the other thing we can do
is the PRP type injection
to try and get it to boost
that healing process
to make it swell up again and
then that starts the scarring down.
Right.
If you're really not able
to get over this next phase,
- into full jumping...
- Okay.
Then we would
consider doing that.
[MARCELO] Injury is
the main thing
that affects a dancer's career.
What kind of injuries
and how serious they are.
It's amazing how much you can
push your body to do what you love.
In ballet, you have
to learn how to manage pain.
[JOEL PROUTY] Can you please
give me 20 push-ups.
[MARCELO] I'll be dancing La
Bayadere with the Tokyo Ballet in Japan.
[MARCELO] The role of Solor
in La Bayadere,
it's an extremely
taxing role to dance
because it has big dancing.
Big jumps, multiple
pirouettes, big leaps,
the double saut de basques,
the pas assemble, double tours,
going all the way down
to the floor, on the knee,
and then partnering
to ballerinas.
[JOEL] I think that
weight's good.
I think you gotta
get in front deeper.
[MARCELO] Uh-huh.
[JOEL] Okay?
If you were to life
a girl from down here,
you're not gonna wait till here
to do a dead shoulder press.
Especially, at the end of
the pas de deux.
Come on. Pick it up.
It's too late. It's too late. You're
not gonna make it through.
I can pick ten guys in
this room that can do this,
and no one can do what
you can do. Come on, let's go.
Bring it in. All the way up.
From the bottom.
Flatten this out. Up.
Yeah, baby. Good!
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Okay. I think we should
start, guys. Okay?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[MUSIC BEGINS AGAIN]
[MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[MARCELO] As you get older,
it takes more time to recover.
You can probably do
the performance
but it's the toll that
it takes on your body.
My father will never get
to see me dance this role.
But I hope he will come
to the Metropolitan in New York
to see me dance other roles
before I retire them.
I told Diana about
it being the last one, so.
Yeah, no, I'm excited.
Here we go. Tomorrow.
Let's do it.
Go out with a bang.
This foot can just fall off.
I think, in
the middle of the show.
Break, doesn't matter.
No, God forbid.
For me, the role of Solor in Bayadere
is the most difficult role to dance.
It's a beast to conquer.
Every male dancer
will tell you that.
It's a beast.
It's like,
mentally prepared, physically
prepared, everything.
Oh my Lord.
Just Bayadere, you know.
[EXHALES IN PAIN]
It hurts too much.
[MAN] Your ankles?
Yeah. Hurts my ankles a lot.
[MARCELO] Because
it's all in one leg.
It's all either pushing up from
the left or landing on the left.
Turning on the left.
So all the whole ballet's...
[MAN] On your left foot?
Yeah.
Feeling a bit emotional
about it, for sure.
Just 'cause...
I wanted to do it for so long.
You can't have fasted rehearsal
process and that's what takes the toll.
You have to practice the jumps,
you have to do the maneges,
you have to do cabrioles.
Once you've proven to yourself
that you can do it that way,
then, why take a step back
and make this a little bit easier?
Part of it is that my standards
are high for myself
but think that's a good thing.
I'm officially retiring
La Bayadere.
[MUSIC PLAYING,
PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[STEADY MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC HITS CRESCENDO]
[MUSIC SLOWS DOWN]
[MUSIC HITS CRESCENDO]
[MUSIC SLOWS DOWN]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[MUSIC BEGINS]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[MUSIC STOPS]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
[MARCELO] Yeah.
Definitely.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Definitely.
[MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
Definitely.
That's why.
[MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]
[CROWD APPLAUDING]
Yes!
It's a good way
to tie everything up.
Thanks, Helga.
You taught it to me first.
I know.
Remember?
- I remember.
- Yeah.
I remember.
It was a good one.
A good one to go out with.
I think.
It was very nice.
Diana and I are very connected.
That was the most
important thing for me.
It's bittersweet.
It's definitely bittersweet.
But I think I'll...
I'll leave with joy.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]
[MARCELO] Being the only boy
was a bit of a challenge.
I knew ballet class was
where I needed to be.
More than anything,
I love to partner a
ballerina on stage.
When you're
partnering a ballerina,
you have to be in total control.
But you also have
to let her shine.
The big classical roles
have a deadline.
I see myself dancing as long
as my body can take.
[PIANO MUSIC STOPS]
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[UP-BEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
[GUITAR MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES OUT]