Black Swan

     While the closing credits played, I sat back in my chair with my eyes bulging out of my head and my jaw hanging close to the floor. I have never been so confused and discombobulated after watching a movie. I felt like someone had gone into my mind and twisted it around. For those of you who have seen the new flick, Black Swan, I think you can say the same.
     As a ballerina, I have been waiting months for this new movie to hit theaters. Natalie Portman plays "Nina," a ballet dancer in a prestigious New York company. The company has decided to reinterpret Swan Lake with a more modern twist. The story circulates around a white swan that becomes evil, thus turning into a black swan. Nina receives the role of the "Queen Swan" and struggles to fulfill the director's impression of the black swan. The lead dancer's life becomes so entwined in the role, the black swan inside of her begins to take over her shy, perfect self. She disrespects her mother, has sexual relations with another woman, and experiments with drugs and alcohol.
     This movie blew my mind. I feel it was open for interpretation. The main idea I got from this movie was the extremely thin line between insanity and sanity. As a dancer I am always told to "be the dance." Dancing tells a story and you need to show the audience that. A true dancer embodies her role completely and pours her heart out to the audience. I never thought that this could be a negative factor. This movie showed how powerful your mind is over your body. I think many dancers can relate to this movie. The dance industry is so brutal and cut-throat, only the strong survive. Black Swan shows that perfection is impossible and trying to be perfect will only lead you to insanity in the end.