And Then We Danced

As the son of former traditional Georgian dancers who have now fallen from grace, young Merab hopes to break into this highly codified dance.

Despite his family's poverty and the conflict with his brother, also a dancer, he rehearses assiduously at the Georgian National Ballet with his partner and girlfriend Mary, under the uncompromising eye of their teacher.

When the talented Irakli joins their troupe and an important audition is announced, Merab's fragile equilibrium shifts. From rivalry to desire, the relationship between Merab and Irakli reveals the deep tensions that run through a very conservative Georgia.

This dance, which crystallises tradition and consacrates male masculinity, becomes a language that Merab uses to assert himself: the young man seizes upon the cultural heritage that oppresses him in order to better subvert it and emancipate himself from it.

Coralie Lamotte (CEC Unil)