Directed by Mary Jane Doherty • Documentary • With Mayara Piñeiro, Gabriela Moreno, Moises Noriega • 2013 • 96 minutes
Secundaria quietly follows one high school class on its journey through Cuba's world-famous National Ballet School. The teens love to dance, but for many of them dance is also their sole escape from a life of poverty. The documentary begins as an observational portrait, but in their third year of school the main character, Mayara, takes charge of her destiny in an astonishing way. Suddenly this simple portrait takes a dramatic turn as Mayara's action surprises everyone: teachers, friends, family and, ultimately, the filmmaker herself.
Up Next in Dance
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Flamenco at 5:15
Directed by Cynthia Scott • Documentary • 1983 • 5 minutes
This Oscar-winning film is a visual and emotional thriller. It is an impressionistic record of a flamenco dance class given to senior students of the National Ballet School of Canada by two great teachers from Spain, Susana and Antonio R...
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The Goumbé of the Young Revelers
Directed by Jean Rouch • Documentary • 1965 • 28 minutes
As West African cities faced explosive growth in the 1960s, young people found themselves displaced, living in urban centers far from their families and home regions.
Enter the goumbés—youth associations combining networking, mutual aid, ...
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One Day Pina Asked (Chantal Akerman)
An encounter between two of the most remarkable women artists of the 20th century, ONE DAY PINA ASKED... is Chantal Akerman's look at the work of choreographer Pina Bausch and her Wuppertal, Germany-based dance company. "This film is more than a documentary on Pina Bausch," a narrator announces a...
