First Position Reviews

The joy of watching lies in the purity of the dancer's passion.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

A superior example of the genre, it concentrates on six young dancers from around the world ...

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Like the engaging hit documentary Spellbound, this dance competition film gets under the skin and holds us in its grip like a well-crafted thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Anyone with an interest in dance should enjoy this documentary ...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

It's humane, involving and inspirational.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

A griping documentary following several ballet hopefuls as they prepare for an international competition.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

Impressively directed and superbly edited, this is an emotionally engaging documentary with likeable subjects, stunning dance sequences and a suspenseful climax.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Undeniably effective as drama, as we ponder the varying degrees of ambition and talent driving these young people to push their bodies beyond the limit in the hope of grasping a future in the spotlight.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

If you thought Black Swan made ballet look grim, this festival-fave documentary offers an earthier but no less griping portrait of the profession's crippling realities.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

A touching look at ballet's battle-hardened youngsters.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5

If this film doesn't put a smile on your face, you are too hard to please.

Full Review | Original Score: A

Hopes are shared and dreams expressed during this uplifting journey in which we become involved in each of the dancers' lives. As a consequence, we have a stake in what happens and are often moved as a result of the drama and tension

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Debut director Bess Kargman establishes herself as a skilled documentarian, drawing out humour and tension from the contestants' experiences without manipulating their stories for melodramatic effect.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

First time director Bess Kargman has done a great job with this film in letting the personalities of these dancers and their families shine through.

Full Review | Original Score: A

It's enjoyable watching the motivated youngsters pirouetting their way to success.

Full Review | Original Score: B+

An arresting documentary about the dedication and sacrifice it takes to be able to spin around like a whirling dervish on the tip of your toes without getting sickeningly dizzy.

Full Review | Original Score: A-

It does a great job developing its characters through its visuals - these are superphysical kids - and honing in on family dynamics.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

If you have a yearning to feel awkward, inadequate and lazy, watching the whirling teenage (and preteen) talents in director Bess Kargman's First Position will do the trick.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Far from the dutiful progeny of "Dance Moms," these are individuals of uncommon skill, self-knowledge, maturity and drive. They're the real deal. And so is First Position.

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All of the dollars and expertise that produced this summer's blockbusters could never produce a spectacle as wondrous as 11-year-old Aran Bell dancing his heart out.

Full Review | Original Score: B-