Tutus in "2081"
Imagine a world where talent is seen as a threat to society. The beautiful wear masks, the intelligent have earpieces that muddle their thoughts—and ballerinas are grounded by heavy weights. This is the premise of 2081, a 28-minute film based on a short story by Kurt Vonnegut that will be available on DVD this month.
The most dramatic scene of the film unfolds during a ballet performance, which director Chandler Tuttle filmed at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. In the middle of the show, a dissident hijacks the theater, illegally sheds his handicaps and convinces one of the dancers to shed hers. Free of her restraints, the ballerina, played by former American Ballet Theatre dancer Alina Faye, finally achieves the unbridled weightlessness of a dancer in motion.
