Beautiful Tragedy

A Beautiful Tragedy is a character driven documentary film about 15 year old Oksana Skorik, at the Perm State Ballet School, who follows her mother’s dream to see her become a prima ballerina.

Russian classical ballet is exceptional. It has glorious traditions, and is a distinct part of Russian self consciousness. The popular engagement is huge, and dance is taken to higher levels of perfection than anywhere else. The Perms Order of Honour Choreographic School lies far east in Russia, close to Siberia, and is one of the most renowned schools in the world.

Of five hundred children selected for the annual audition at the school, only 30 are accepted. To get a place in the school the body has to be perfect: each part of the body is given marks, 5 is perfection. Then they look to see how supple the girls are, stretching their small bodies in every direction. Most of the girls spend 9 years at this school, sacrificing their youth and suffering unbearable pain – only to realize that their dream will not come true. Their ultimate goal could crash at any given moment.

Oksana Skorik - the main character of the film - is the new Prima Ballerina at Meriinsky theatre in St Petersburg, and the new Russian star.

This film is the 2nd part of the trilogy by David Kinsella and Anna Sirota called “The Children of Perestroika”. Other films - „Love Letters from a Children's Prison“ and „Killing Girls“ are also available for viewing on our site. The 3 films compare the Russian youth of before the revolution and after.