FILM REVIEW: LIFT (2022) DIR. DAVID PETERSEN – TRIBECA FESTIVAL
Written by Belle Mclntyre
There is something so life affirming about impossible-seeming projects which, against all logic and bad odds, turn out to have unexpected positive outcomes. New York Theatre Ballet started Project LIFT 30 years ago – which gives scholarships to homeless kids living in shelters. The fact that most of the kids, as well as their parents, had never even seen classical ballet, much less aspired to it, makes the success of the program all the more remarkable. Told through the eyes of Steven Melendez, who was chosen as the artistic director and filmed over 10 years, follows the trajectory of three of his students as well his own reckoning with his own experience living with the shame of homelessness.
Victor Abreu, formerly of New York Theatre Ballet’s LIFT program, leaps in the air, as seen in LIFT, directed by David Petersen. Photo credit: Fyodor Shiryaev. Courtesy of Beaufort 9 Films.
The exposure to unimagined possibilities to the kids as well as their families is fraught with mixed emotions for those who have been living lives of lowered expectations in some of the toughest neighborhoods in the city and are barely making it. The success of Steven as a recruiter and mentor can surely be attributed to the fact that he is a product of the LIFT Project which he joined when he was 7 years old living in a shelter in the Bronx. He worked hard, excelled, and went on to a successful dance career with New York Theatre Ballet as a principal dancer as well as a guest soloist performing nationally and internationally. The return to his painful past as he works with the young kids going through similar situations inspires him to try to work in a more relevant vein within the parameters of ballet training. He choreographs a program for the graduation which incorporates movements which reflect the lived experiences of the students who become collaborators. It is uniquely personal and meaningful to the kids and their families, who have had to make sacrifices to enable them to be in the program. It is an overpoweringly emotional moment.
Dancer Steven Melendez teaches ballet to children at a family homeless shelter, as seen in LIFT, directed by David Petersen. Courtesy of Beaufort 9 Films.
The individual stories of the three students all have their own sets of complications and require immense sensitivity and patience from Steven, who has to deal with the challenging family and school dynamics as well as youthful and adolescent behaviors of the students. Victor, one of his most gifted ones, ends up in the corps de ballet with NYTB at 21 years old. Yolanssie, a talented but wayward 16 year old who looked as if she might go on a self-destructive path was gently yet firmly guided in a positive direction by Steven, which includes graduating and going to law school. Sharia, age 14, still studies ballet and plans to apply to performing arts school. All great outcomes.
The young dancers of New York Theatre Ballet’s LIFT program perform their final dance, as seen in LIFT, directed by David Petersen. Courtesy of Beaufort 9 Films.
Prolific documentary director, David Peterson, has been the recipient of many prestigious grants, whose directorial work has been multi-awarded and widely distributed on various platforms, reveals a supreme appreciation for the humanity of his subjects. His focus is up close and personal with no attempt to prettify his characters or their milieu. We go into the kids homes and hear from the parents and marvel that the urge to dance overrules the myriad of small and large obstacles which they face. Most importantly, is the joy and hope that it brings to all of those involved in the community and the project. It is enormously uplifting and inspiring.
David Petersen, director of LIFT.
