' Black Swan' makes us think about the ultimate relationship between actors and dance

"Black Swan" synopsis

Nina, a member of a ballet company in New York, has devoted her entire life to ballet under the affection of her mother, a former dancer. Then she gets a Being There to play the prima in the new film ``Swan Lake.'' However, this difficult role, in which she had to play not only the innocent Swan Queen but also the evil and sensual Black Swan, was a challenge that was too high for Nina, who is an honor student type. Furthermore, the appearance of Lily, a free-spirited new dancer who looks good in the role of Black Swan, pushes Nina into a corner mentally. Eventually, Nina becomes so absorbed in preparing for her role that she falls into extreme confusion, wandering between reality and nightmare, and becomes trapped in the darkness of her own heart...

Index

• Build the body of a top dancer through a year of special training
• What is the masterpiece of "dance double" that is not stunt double?
• The path from world-famous dancer to star actor

Build the body of a top dancer through a year of special training

Natalie Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for ``Black Swan.'' The heart of this movie is a drama in which the main character struggles with excessive pressure and is tormented by delusions and hallucinations, so it's natural that his acting skills will be put to the test. Natalie responded perfectly to this challenge and was honored.

Natalie will be playing the lead role in a New York ballet company. In fact, there are many parts in ``Black Swan'' that are reminiscent of the prestigious New York-based American Ballet Theatre. In other words, since the premise is that this is a world-class ballet company, the highest level of ballet technique will be put to the test in order to perform the leading role.

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Natalie Portman took ballet lessons when she was a girl, and when we interviewed her long before ``Black Swan,'' she said, ``I'd like to put my experience to use and play the role of a dancer someday.'' . That wish came true, and in order to prepare for the role, Natalie trained in classical ballet for a year (it was said to be an intense training session of 5 hours a day!).

Natalie's efforts are worth it, as she shows off her ballerina-like moves...This is probably the normal reaction of people who have seen ``Black Swan.'' However, it is true that for those who are used to watching ballet, it may seem rough. There is no way that she has reached the top technique of a top ballet company. After just one year of intensive training, this is probably an inevitable result.

In such cases, it is common practice for a professional to act as a double, similar to an action stuntman (stunt double), and in "Black Swan," Natalie's double is supported by a top dancer from American Ballet Theater. I decided to do it. It is not possible to clearly distinguish how much of this is Natalie herself and how much is a double.

However, the parts where the face does not appear, such as the movement of the pointe shoes, the fingertips, and the stage cuts shown in the ``pull'', seem to be almost double images. This is because in the cut where Natalie's face is shown, her shoulder line is clearly different from that of a professional. In ``Black Swan'', the question of ``to what extent is the role of a substitute'' has also developed into a controversy.

Unless you're performing classical ballet, like Channing Tatum in Magic Mike, you don't need this kind of precision.

What is the masterpiece of "dance double" that is not stunt double?