November – 2009 – Jerome Robbins' NY Export: Opus Jazz the Film

Shot on location all over present-day New York City, NY Export: Opus Jazz takes Jerome Robbins’ 1958 jazz ballet, of the same name, and recreates it for a new generation. Created, produced, and danced by members of the New York City Ballet, NY Export: Opus Jazz (www.opusjazz.com) will air on THIRTEEN’s Great Performances series on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 8 p.m. EST (check local listings). Conceived by Ellen Bar and Sean Suozzi, New York City Ballet soloists, and directed by Henry Joost and Jody Lee Lipes, NY Export: Opus Jazz completed shooting in and around New York City at the end of September 2009.

Bar and Suozzi danced in Jerome Robbins’ NY Export: Opus Jazz when it was revived by New York City Ballet in 2005. They were struck by the themes that came out in the dancing – the energy and raw emotions of urban youth – which makes the ballet just as relevant today as it was when it was first conceived in the 1950’s. With a couple of changes – street clothes instead of costumes and New York City locations instead of a stage – they believed that a film of this ballet would be very accessible to both novices and balletomanes.

After NY Export: Opus Jazz was sanctioned by all nine members of the Robbins’ Trust – not only an approval first but an immediate vote of confidence – the pas de deux, “Passage for Two,” was shot in June 2007. Filmed at the High Line (pre-renovation), it features New York City Ballet soloists Rachel Rutherford and Craig Hall and was shot in just two days. Bar and Suozzi utilized this preliminary sequence to help raise funds for the entire film.

The film, like the ballet, is divided into five movements and was shot on location at a gymnasium in Carroll Gardens (Brooklyn), the McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg (Brooklyn), the Imlay building in Red Hook (Brooklyn) and at the Loew’s Theater, circa 1929, in Jersey City. “It was always our intention to shoot each section in a different place because each movement has different moods and atmospheres,” explains Bar.

“There was a really strong feeling on set that we were making something special and that we had been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a tremendous responsibility,” says Suozzi. “It was very intimidating to be the first to adapt Robbins’ work for film since his death, especially because of West Side Story, which is a masterpiece of both dance and cinema.“ Bar adds that the dancers were surprised, at first, at the thoroughness and the professionalism of the production. “They are used to seeing us just as dancers and not as producers, but seeing how much the directors and crew cared and how much work had gone into the planning of it really inspired them to give it their all, take after take.”

The original ballet was 28 minutes long. The film includes every step of the ballet from first to last – danced by New York City Ballet dancers – but also has a narrative scene between each movement where the audience is introduced to the characters. Accompanying the ballet on Great Performances will be a documentary, by Matt Wolf and Anna Farrell, which follows the story of the original ballet up until its adaptation for film.

”Since 1976, Great Performances has been bringing the best in American dance to public television viewers via the Dance in America series,” says executive producer David Horn. “WNET was very fortunate to be able to collaborate with Robbins during his lifetime on several landmark productions for television. So, we are proud to serve as the broadcast partner for this film, and we are confident the adaptation will resonate with today’s generation, just as the original work did with generations past.”

“We wanted to make something that held its own as dance and as serious cinema, and seeing it come together in the editing room, we think we’ve achieved that,” say Bar and Suozzi. “We feel like it’s the kind of dance movie we’ve been wanting to see for a long time; it has everything: amazing choreography and music, vibrant characters, a bold cinematic style and, of course, the best dancers in the world, New York City Ballet dancers – all set against the backdrop of the real New York City, the city that we love.”

For more information about the film, please visit www.opusjazz.com

NY Export: Opus Jazz is also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/NY-Export-Opus-Jazz-The-Film/157578620832?ref=ts

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