Michaela DePrince to Star in New "Coppélia" Film, Bringing Together Animation and Ballet
Have we mentioned that we love ballet movies? Thankfully, Dutch National Ballet just gave us something new to look forward to. The company announced today that filming is now underway for Coppelia, a new star-studded fusion of animation and ballet set to be released at the end of 2020. And, wait for it… Michaela DePrince will be dancing Swanilda, with DNB principal Daniel Camargo as her Franz.
The standout cast also includes DNB principal Igone de Jongh, former Bolshoi and Royal Ballet star Irek Mukhamedov, Dutch dancer and actor Jan Kooijman and English prima ballerina Darcey Bussell.
Coppelia
will feature choreography by DNB artistic director Ted Brandsen, based on his modern 2008 stage version. Though still closely inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 story “The Sandman” and set to Léo Delibes classic 1870 score, Brandsen’s ballet takes place in a “retro-futuristic” era. His characters interact in a sports school, juice bar and plastic surgery clinic rather than a rural village. And while we don’t know exactly how animation and ballet will come together in this new film, directors Jeff Tudor, Steven de Beul and Ben Tesseur have brought together a top notch international team of designers and animators to make it happen.
We get it; we’re excited too, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted as updates on this project come to light.
