For the upcoming Starz drama Flesh and Bone, the hard truths of ballet and the organizations that run it are a searing example of what many don't know about the underbelly of the business. Executive producer Moira Walley-Beckett even went so far as to say it "rips the Band-Aid off" ballet.
The new show is supposed to showcase dancers that are actually talented performers. When it came to casting the production, the shows execs didn't want to use any kind of editing or doubles to help achieve what they desired.
As Walley-Beckett said during a panel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, "It was a daunting challenge. Chris Albrecht and the team at Starz and I decided that it would be greenlight contingent. The verisimilitude was really important to me. I didn't want to fake it. I didn't want to have body doubles. I didn't want to have actors who could dance a little. I wanted dancers. I wanted to be able to put the camera anywhere."
There are many names to note that helped shape, choreograph and even star in the cast. Ethan Stiefel, former artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet and a former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, helped fit the role of Claire with a former ABT student, Sarah Hay.
Finishing out the cast are former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Irina Dvorovenko, ABT soloist Sascha Radetsky (from the film Center Stage) Ballet Arizona company dancer Raychel Dian Weiner and Boardwalk Empire's Emily Tyra.
You don't even have to wait to view the show each week. Starz announced that all of the episodes will be available for stream to any subscriber of Starz, its Starz Play app and Starz on Demand.
The series is set to premiere on Nov. 8.
The crippling world of ballet may be hard to stomach but it's certainly a notion that is worth making into a limited series.
In fact, here is a preview of what the ballet world is like according to the new show.
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