Sometimes, it really pays off to just send a cold email to someone and see what happens next. That seems to be the case with what Justin Peck, from the New York City Ballet, did when he wanted to ask if Sofia Coppola would be interested in collaborating on a project. And to his surprise, she was not only interested but was “thrilled” to do it. Thus, a new short film was spawned.
Speaking to The New York Times, Peck and Coppola talked about how their collaboration came together and resulted in a new short film that recently premiered as part of New York City Ballet’s Digital Spring Gala. The 24-minute short showcases the beauty of the choreography and grace of the ballet, but with the decidedly indie eye of Coppola. But as said above, Peck wasn’t even sure the filmmaker would even be interested in tackling such a project.
“We were a little nervous to reach out to her,” Justin Peck, the resident choreographer and artistic adviser at City Ballet, said. “She was so responsive and excited about it, and warm to speak to that it just turned into a wonderful process.”
When asked about the experience, Coppola admits that filming a ballet forced her to expand her filmmaking abilities from what she typically is used to doing.
“I’ve enjoyed going to the ballet over the years, but I have never filmed anything with a dance component,” she explained. “And my shooting style is pretty stationary, so to do something where there was so much movement, I had to think about using the camera differently. What was very helpful was getting Justin’s films, shot on his phone, of his rehearsals with [principal dancer Anthony Huxley]. It was interesting to see his sense of movement.”
Coppola added, “The challenge for me was to convey the feeling of seeing live dance. A lot of dance is filmed in a very flat, standard way. But getting close up, which is thrilling in rehearsal, doesn’t always translate onto film either. I had to move the camera much more than I am used to, and try to give the feel of experiencing a live performance from different vantage points.”
For those interested in watching the film, you can do so below, but the video will only be made available until May 20. So, don’t waste time.