A Wolf Among the Swans

A Wolf Among the Swans

Helena Varvaki, Marcos Schechtman

Matheus Abreu, Darío Grandinetti

2024 / Brazil / 110mins

The Roxy / 12-Feb / 2:30PM

There have been numerous Hollywood movies in the wake of the 1983 blockbuster, Flashdance, about aspiring dancers striving to bridge free-style personal expression with the discipline of ballet. What is different about the Brazilian film, A Wolf Among the Swans, is that it is based on a true story: Thiago Soares, a poor kid and hiphop dancer who from the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro won a dance scholarship in his teens and became an international star and principal dancer with the Royal Ballet of London. Set mostly in the 90s, A Wolf Among the Swans follows the cocky, homophobic street dancer, Thiago (Matheus Abreu), who uses the scholarship to show off and enjoy the extra-curricular benefit of pas de deux with the ballerinas. When his teacher suspects the brash teenager may be a generational talent, they invite the Cuban dance master Dino Carella to evaluate him. The openly gay, imperious teacher, and the rebellious, macho teenager clash, but they eventually form a deep bond over the joy of dance. The film concludes with a solo performance by Soares himself, in a dazzling demonstration of the fusion of strength and grace. -LL