The borough Treptow in Berlin on the 28th of January 2003. In a former omnibus depot in an industrial backwater something amazing is happening.
250 pupils from 25 nations are dancing to Stravinsky's 'Sacre du Printemps', which they have rehearsed for nearly three months, trained by the British choreographer Royston Maldoom and accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under its chief conductor, Sir Simon Rattle.
RHYTHM IS IT! follows the fascinating process leading to the Sacre performance, the most ambitious project in the Zukunft@BPhil program for the year 2003.
It shows the first efforts at dancing made by youngsters, few of whom had prior knowledge of classical music and expressive dance; it shows the perseverance, affection and patience with which Royston Maldoom and his assistants Susannah Broughton and Volker Eisenach care for them, and it shows the auxiliary efforts of teachers and the rehearsals of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra held during the same period.
Through the eyes of three young protagonists we take part in the project's development, its ups and downs, doubts and enthusiasms, uncertainties and renewals of self-confidence.
It is a fascinating journey into new, undreamed-of worlds and reveals surprising facets of the protagonists' personalities.
Imagine choreographing a Rite of Spring for 250 dancers–250 bodies on one stage (that’s more than the entire Bolshoi Ballet), feverishly summoning the sacrifice of the Chosen One. Now imagine that of those 250, most are adolescents with no formal dance training, who dismiss “serious” dance as a waste of time.
Such was the task that Royston Maldoom undertook … with the help of fellow educators Susannah Broughton and Volker Eisenach–under the auspices of the Berlin Philharmonic’s arts-in-education program, Zukunft@BPhil. The inspirational documentary Rhythm Is It!, … newly released in the U.S. by Kultur … chronicles Maldoom’s dogged work with students from Berlin public schools and the individual journeys of those youngsters, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds or troubled family situations.
The film, though murky on the logistics of this ambitious project (www.rhythmisit.com provides some missing context), takes us inside rehearsals where teenage apathy, self-doubt, and eye-rolling defiance slowly give way to a hushed reverence for movement and glimmers of newfound self-confidence. Directors Enrique Sánchez Lansch and Thomas Grube alternate those scenes with footage of the Philharmonic and its jubilant, impassioned conductor, Sir Simon Rattle, as they practice Stravinsky’s thrilling score.
Rhythm Is It! captures not just the making of a dance (though the full production, on Disc 2, is worth watching) but the personal, psychological transformations that dance can empower. As Broughton, a gentle and grounding presence in the film, tells her students, “You practice physically, and then emotionally and mentally, everything will catch up with you.” –Siobhan Burke, Dance Magazine
