 Hi, art lovers! | | |  | CBC | | | I can tell the difference between a plié and a sauté, but that’s only because I was forced to take a single year of dance class when I was seven. A ballet expert, I am not. But you don’t need to be a lifetime subscriber to the National Ballet of Canada to appreciate a new docuseries that’s coming soon to CBC Gem. After watching just one episode, I can say this: I’m desperate to buy tickets to the next show at the Four Seasons Centre.
Swan Song, a four-part documentary from members of the creative team behind the CBC Arts series, In the Making, takes you behind the scenes at the National Ballet. In 2022, the company staged a fresh version of Swan Lake — the fourth in its history and the swan song, so to speak, of the company’s artistic director emerita, Karen Kain. A dance legend on the cusp of retirement, Kain wanted the show to be her farewell to the National Ballet. In her 50-year career, she performed Swan Lake many times — including a star-making turn at the age of 19 — but her production for the National Ballet would break new ground. For the first time, she’d be directing the show, and — one small spoiler for you — it was a sensation. In a Q interview from 2022, Toronto dance critic Martha Schabas called the ballet “quietly radical.”
But Swan Song isn’t a Karen Kain biopic. It’s a backstage story about all the dancers fighting for their moment on stage — an ensemble drama built on major stakes. Or put it this way: “It isn’t about swans and fouettés; it's about human beings,” said filmmakers Chelsea McMullan and Sean O'Neill, writing for CBC Arts.
If the title sounds familiar, yes, I’ve mentioned Swan Song in the newsletter before. In September, a feature film version of the doc appeared at TIFF. (Q interviewed one of the project’s executive producers, Neve Campbell, when it premiered at the festival.) Similar to what I was saying in last week’s email about BlackBerry, Swan Song is another example of a Canadian project that’s found funding as both a TV series and a film. (Here’s some industry context for you.)
For more on the making of Swan Song, CBC News ran this feature about the project earlier this fall. And in the next few days, we’ll be publishing a few stories about the series. (Keep checking the site!) All four episodes arrive on CBC Gem this Wednesday, Nov. 22. | | | | | And because we promised you eye candy ... | | | | |  | Annie Baillargeon | | Baptême des postures nocturnes by Quebec City artist Annie Baillargeon. | | | | |  | Laura Findlay | | Catch by Laura Findlay. Laura’s nighttime paintings are always so deliciously mysterious. In her hands, even a pigeon can have major Black Swan vibes. | | | | |  | 63 Lights/LevelFilm | | | | | On its opening weekend, detective comedy Who’s Yer Father? was the top movie in Charlottetown. We spoke with its director, Jeremy Larter, about giving his home province the onscreen love it deserves. | | | | |  | Samuel Engelking/CBC Arts | | | | | Meet Yaayaa Adams, whose magnetic presence in Next Stop and The Last Video Store is earning much-deserved attention. | | | | |  | CBC Arts | | | | | | | Orlando, My Political Biography is the debut feature from philosopher and theorist Paul B. Preciado. He stopped by the set of Here & Queer in advance of the movie’s upcoming Toronto screening. | | |  | Jacquie Matechuk | | Jacquie’s a wildlife photographer from Cochrane, Alta., and earlier this month, she claimed the title of Nature Photographer of the Year. This is the image that earned her that international prize, and she told CBC Calgary the story behind the photo. | | | | | Share this newsletter | | or subscribe if this was
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I’m Leah Collins, senior writer at CBC Arts. Until next time! | | | | | |
