‘Flesh and Bone’ pilot review
By Lauren Paulsen, Senior Columnist
4/5
Flesh and Bone is packed full of story and plot as well as beautiful dancing.
Claire (Sarah Hay) is a young, talented ballerina that runs away from home and joins a tough-to-get-into dance program in New York. She manages to catch the eye of Paul (Ben Daniels), the person in charge, inevitably sparking jealousy from the other girls in the program.
I took two major points away from this pilot episode. The first is that nearly every person in this show has a dark, horrendous side. The second is that I never want to be a professional ballet dancer. I used to take dance lessons when I was younger, until my health deteriorated, and never did I imagine it could be so cutthroat. The things these girls go through to try and make it big horrify my moral compass. I don’t think any of them have managed to remain undamaged.
The story is so intriguing that I was totally pulled into the world of Flesh and Bone. A lot is left for your mind to work out because things aren’t blatantly spelled out. For example, we learn Claire is running away from home at the beginning of the episode, but it isn’t until the very end that we see something that makes us draw conclusions as to why. The end also ties several other points in the episode together and gives you a new perspective when you look back.
I certainly liked Flesh and Bone. I have to say that the drama reminded me a lot of Game of Thrones, despite their plots and genres being quite different. There may not be any beheadings here, but no one is left unscathed in the terrifying world of becoming a professional ballerina.
