Dance of the Little Swans Extended version 48 min. Vaganova Ballet Academy Auditions Young Dancers

Extended version. Director’s cut. Many young girls dream of becoming ballerinas, but only very few are prepared to apply the all-out effort and make the sacrifices that this dream demands. The famous Vaganova Ballet Academy in welcomes the most talented and determined young dancers, but it makes them no promises. Being a professional ballet dancer is an exhausting job. To live a fairy-tale on stage, ballet dancers have to suffer for their art behind the scenes: they follow a gruelling training schedule and stick to a strict diet. From an early age, they live in the ballet academy so that they can dedicate the most time possible to their training. As a consequence they are separated from their families. They leave their friends and their schools behind, and enter a new, very competitive environment, where it’s difficult to form friendships as their classmates are also their rivals. However, young hopefuls who make these sacrifices may find they are not enough to achieve their dr