Synitheies (2005)

Habits is a film about the State School of Dance in Athens, Greece. Dancers have a special calling; an intense dedication and we see them in classes and rehearsals looking for direction from those who have gone before. Done in a direct cinema style, the film follows the school's students, choreographers, ballet masters, and administrative personnel through the arduous construction of a dancer. The film does not have a conventional storyline but reveals the relationships characters have with each other. Highlights include the efforts of Risa Steinberg, a New York based dance master, intensely coaching the students Jose Limon's Choreographic Offering; and the strife of Marianna Tsartolia, a graduate of the State School of Dance who now dances in New York, to get the students to dance Bolero in the choreography of Pascal Rioult. The film allows the audience to concentrate on the subject - the effort and discipline that goes into dance, and the progression from rehearsal to performance with all that it involves - without commentary.