Anyone with an interest in dance should enjoy this documentary ...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 12, 2013

Settles for heartwarming "follow your dreams" platitudes rather than following the cold realities of being a dancer.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 11, 2013

A blandly feelgood documentary about aspiring young ballet dancers.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 11, 2013

A griping documentary following several ballet hopefuls as they prepare for an international competition.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 11, 2013

Undeniably effective as drama, as we ponder the varying degrees of ambition and talent driving these young people to push their bodies beyond the limit in the hope of grasping a future in the spotlight.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 10, 2013

A touching look at ballet's battle-hardened youngsters.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 8, 2013

It does a great job developing its characters through its visuals - these are superphysical kids - and honing in on family dynamics.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 19, 2012

If you have a yearning to feel awkward, inadequate and lazy, watching the whirling teenage (and preteen) talents in director Bess Kargman's First Position will do the trick.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 19, 2012

It's a wealth of material at odds with a scant running time and shallow focus.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 25, 2012

When it's over, you won't remember so much about who won and who lost. Instead, what remains is the expression on a young dancer's face, reflected in a mirror: showing the joy of being in love with what you do.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 24, 2012

For someone (like me) who has never been to a ballet, the talent of these teens and tweens is a revelation.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 18, 2012

A number of the performances are plain stunning - Aran and Joan, in particular, seem born to move - and in many ways watching the movie is like watching a sporting event; there are winners and losers and favorites to cheer on.

| Original Score: B- | May 17, 2012

It's an intense journey, and Kargman captures it all, down to the dancers' bloodied and bruised feet.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 11, 2012

Yes, it is possible to create a gripping documentary about the ballet world without resorting to "Black Swan" melodramatics.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 10, 2012

Because its subjects are so driven and so talented, "First Position," which is about ballet, is more gripping than the norm.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 10, 2012

The film shows the grueling work it takes for young dancers like Zamora to look effortless on stage, and First Position shows teachers who range from supportive to borderline abusive.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 10, 2012

This is yet another competition doc in the unending legacy of Spellbound, but Kargman is light on her feet, and she has chosen to follow a fascinating group of kids preparing for the 2010 Youth America Grand Prix.

| May 7, 2012

Beneath the jets and bleeding feet, First Position is about toughness of mind as much as visions of beauty. In one case it's about a transformation so profound as to be unfathomable.

| May 5, 2012

Documentaries don't have to be technically great to be irresistible, and Bess Kargman's First Position, which follows six young ballet dancers as they prepare for an elite competition, is a case in point.

| Original Score: 8/10 | May 4, 2012

First Position overcomes its predictable elements thanks to the inherent visual drama of watching children strain their bodies to the limit in obsessive pursuit of their goals.

| May 4, 2012