Name: Allison DeBona
Age: 28
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Currently one of Ballet West's rising stars, Allison DeBona joined Ballet West in 2007 and was promoted to Demi-Soloist in 2011. She hopes to be a Principal at Ballet West one day. She trained at The Parou Ballet Company and the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet. DeBona is fiercely competitive and will stop at nothing to make her dreams come true.
Name: Rex Tilton
Age: 24
Hometown: San Diego, California
Rex Tilton joined Ballet West in 2008 as an apprentice. He is currently a Demi-Soloist and has performed several lead roles alongside the company's principal dancers. Tilton comes from a large family of nine, with six out of the seven children dancing professionally around the United States, including his brother Ronald, who is also at Ballet West.
"BREAKING POINTE"
For the first time ever, the beauty and grace of ballet, the world's preeminent dance form, will be brought to television. Viewers will also see the dark side of this seemingly perfect world; the jealousy, competition and intensity that exist behind the scenes at a professional ballet company. For under the tights and tutus lie warriors, who battle in a gritty world of extreme athleticism, focus and dedication, while hunting for the unattainable…perfection.
"Breaking Pointe" rips back the curtain on the inner workings of elite Salt Lake City Ballet Company, Ballet West. It obliterates the notion that ballet is a dated art form and shatters pre-conceived stereotypes about the men and women who give their lives to the world of ballet. Beneath their perfect exteriors, these dancers have the toughness of linebackers, punishing their bodies to achieve perfection and dancing through injuries and pain.
Led by Artistic Director Adam Sklute, a former dancer and Associate Director of The Joffrey Ballet, Ballet West and Ballet West II's company of 48 dancers includes: Principal Artist Christiana Bennett, Principal Artist Christopher Ruud, Soloist Tom Mattingly, Soloist Ronnie Underwood, Demi-Soloist Allison DeBona, Demi-Soloist Rex Tilton, Adrian Fry, Beckanne Sisk, Kathleen Martin and Ronald Tilton.
Shot in a rich, cinematic style, "Breaking Pointe" pulls the viewer directly into the company, where they will experience the exhausting rehearsals, the stylized glamour of the dancers' life and the vibrant and dynamic main-stage performances.
It's every little girl's dream to grow up and become a ballerina, but nobody knows what the world of competitive ballet is really about. No one sees the sacrifice and discipline it takes to look perfect for the audience. Nobody knows that in order to advance and get the best roles, dancers have to navigate the complicated social politics inside the company. And, no one sees, when the curtain goes down, the drama that bleeds into the dancers' private lives…until now.
BREAKING POINTE is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Kate Shepherd ("Big Brother," "Wife Swap") is executive producer. Izzie Pick Ashcroft ("Dancing with the Stars") and Jane Tranter ("Top Gear," "Dancing with the Stars," "Torchwood") are executive producers for BBC Worldwide Productions.
Day and time: Thursdays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) on CW30.
Network debut: May 31, 2012
