Dancing as hard as they can

The Company

Rating: * * * (out of 5)
Director: Robert Altman
Running time: 112 minutes
Language: English
Opens July 24

What does it mean to be a ballet dancer who lives, breathes and looks to be ready to die for his or her art?

The answer to that is to be found in Robert Altman's "The Company," an often cynical (what did you expect?) but always ardent gaze at the arduous and strenuous world of dance and ballet.

A dancer can train for years, work 12 hours a day and still have to scramble to be able to afford their own apartment. Only a handful of dancers make it to the top, but even that's no guarantee of long-lasting success a single injury can end a career in a matter of seconds.