First Position

First Position
Directed byBess Kargman
Produced byBess Kargman
StarringMichaela DePrince
Aran Bell
Gaya Bommer-Yemini
Miko Fogarty
Jules Fogarty
Joan Sebastian Zamora
Rebecca Houseknecht
Giuseppe Bausilio
CinematographyNick Higgins
Edited byKate Amend
Bess Kargman
Music byChris Hajian
Production
company
First Position Films
Distributed bySundance Selects
Release dates
  • September 11, 2011 (2011-09-11) (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • May 4, 2012 (2012-05-04) (United States)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,730,824
Cast of "First Position" ballet documentary interviewed at Toronto International Film Festival 2011. Left to right: dancer Michaela DePrince, interviewer Samantha Gutstadt, dancer Jules Fogarty, director Bess Kargman, dancer Miko Fogarty.

First Position is a 2011 American documentary film. It follows six young dancers preparing for the Youth America Grand Prix in New York City, an annual competition for dancers ages 9–19 to earn a place at an elite ballet company or school. Directed by Bess Kargman, it features Michaela DePrince, Aran Bell, Gaya Bommer-Yemini, Miko Fogarty, Jules Fogarty, Joan Sebastian Zamora and Rebecca Houseknecht as they intensively train and prepare for what could be the turning point of their lives.

The title 'First Position' is taken from one of the five standard positions of the feet in classical ballet.

Kargman was a first-time director who had studied dance herself. "I ended up quitting my job to make this film, my first film, and I thought maybe by choosing a topic that was quite dear to me and that I had lived for a number of years growing up—maybe I’d be able to do this story justice."[1] The film features renowned dancers and choreographers from all over the world including Nadine Bommer,[2] Denys Ganio, Élisabeth Platel, Raymond Lukens, and Youth America Grand Prix's founder Larissa Saveliev.

  1. ^ "Interview: Director Bess Kargman of the Ballet Documentary "First Position" - Movie Mom". www.beliefnet.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Four Questions with filmmaker Bess Kargman, director of First Position". JewishBoston. Retrieved 2017-08-23.