With The Vampire Diaries on hiatus, The CW is presenting a slew of fun new shows this summer, one of which is Breaking Pointe -- a reality show about dancers from Ballet West, a Salt Lake City ballet company. And despite not knowing much (like, at all) about dance, we couldn't help but find ourselves knee-deep in the drama and emotion of the first episode. Ballet is more than just a fulltime job to these people, it's their life. And who doesn't love to peek into other people's lives sometimes?
I caught up with Artistical Director Adam Skulte to talk about the show, his dancers and the misconceptions surrounding ballet. Check it out!
Ology: Hi Adam! So what made you allow a TV show to come into the studio and film you guys? What were your hesitations with that?
What made me want it or allow -- we were approached by the BBC Worldwide Productions. They had a concept for following a ballet company, really exploring what it was like for real professional ballet dancers and a real professional company, and what that whole world was like. I really liked their whole premise. I thought it was fascinating -- that they really wanted to go in depth and sort of explore the truth, and I presented it to my dancers, and I asked them to vote on it themselves. They came back obviously in favor of doing this project, and I think all of us agree that this could be a wonderful thing for the dance world in general, to really show the true ups and downs of our profession and our art form, and what it’s like for the individual and what it’s like for the company. So that was really it.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about ballet and the dance world in general?
You know, there are so many misconceptions about the dance world. I think the old one, which I think still lives around a lot, is that it’s just sort of a feet art form. It’s just people dancing around on their toes and I don’t think people really get a sense of how difficult it is, and how much talent is involved and how athletic it is, and just how much you have to sacrifice if you’re really passionate about it to make it work.
After watching the Pilot, you have to give a lot of people bad news. What was it like having the cameras there for that?
Oh, you know, no matter what it is a miserable experience. Cameras or no cameras, it’s the worst part of my job.
You promoted [SPOILER ALERT] very quickly. Does that always cause a little drama? Do people often get jealous?
It’s really on an individual basis because it depends on the person. I don’t think there’s anyone in our company who questioned [SPOILER ALERT]'s talent.
You see in the first episode that personal problems and relationships can often affect the dancers' performances. Do you try to shy away from dancers dating one another?
You know what, it’s none of my business really. It really doesn’t matter to me. All that matters to me is that they do their work beautifully in the studios and on the stage, most importantly. How they live their personal lives is none of my business unless it affects their work.
We also see the dancers going out and partying a little bit, but I’m sure that’s not very typical, right?
You know, dancers are incredible that way because they – sure – they’re young people. Dancing is a profession for young people, so like young people, of course they’re going to go out and have a good time, and that’s great. But they’re always cognizant of what their work is like, and when they have to be dancing and when they have to take care of their bodies, and be careful about what they’re doing, and that’s intense.
What can we expect from upcoming episodes? The Pilot was very focused on who got a contract and who got the boot. What's next?
You know, you’re going to see everything from preparations, to performances, to how people lead their daily lives, to me holding auditions, to any number of things – these are all just things. It’s all about the season in the life of a professional ballet company, and the life of Ballet West.
Breaking Pointe premieres tonight at 8 p.m. on The CW.
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Will you be tuning in?
Follow Sharon Tharp on Twitter: @sharontharp
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