TuTuMUCH

TuTuMUCH takes an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how it feels to be a twelve-year-old girl and embark on a career as a professional ballet dancer - all before you’ve even had your first date. This fascinating feature documentary follows nine young ballet dancers as they plié, pirouette and compete for highly coveted spots in an intensive four-week professional ballet summer program at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Leaving behind their families and friends, often for the first time, each girl confronts the painstaking and sometimes rewarding realities of actually living her dream.

As the girls learn during the course of the auditions, talent and passion alone are not enough. The classes are grueling as their physical and emotional limits are stretched and tested daily. “You’ve even got to love the pain” says twelve-year-old Sidnie, one of the prospective ballerinas. But dedication is not enough. The success of a dancer often comes down to the shape of a foot or the length of the neck. In the last few days of the program the girls find out which of them will take the next step toward the dream of becoming a professional ballerina, and which ones don’t.

Directed by Elise Swerhone (Ballet Girls, Ballet High), TuTuMUCH illustrates the artistic beauty and sometimes harsh reality of a career in professional ballet. Which girl will prove to be the dancer they are looking for? Who will have the passion, the drive and the endurance to make it? And will she and her family be ready to make the sacrifices?

Co-produced with Emmy award-winning vonnie VON HELMOLT film.