Queerguru’s Robert Malcolm reviews JOHN CRANKO the brilliant queer dancer and choreographer who found fame in Stuttgart

John Cranko was a brilliant gay South African dancer and choreographer, working in London and Stuttgart during the fifties and sixties.Joachim A. Laing’s stylish German-language film of the same name, starring the captivating Sam Riley (Control, On The Road) in the lead, follows Cranko from his arrival at the Stuttgart Ballet in 1961 to his death in 1973, aged 45.Cranko had choreographed his first ballet for Sadler Wells at only 23 and soon became the Royal Ballet’s principal choreographer. In 1960 however, he was prosecuted for homosexual activity in a public lavatory and had to flee London for Stuttgart, where his sexuality was less of a problem for the establishment.From the start of the movie, when Cranko enters a plane to Germany in a jazzy black and white houndstooth suit, we are introduced to imaginary dance sequences literally, through Cranko’s eyes. These luscious dream ballets, rehearsals and performances continue throughout the film and display Cranko’s timeless genius.The dancing is breathtaking and the camera is fully respectful of his choreography. Technically, could this be one of the best ballet films ever made? The film as a biography, however, is incomplete, and concentrates more on Cranko as an artist than on his personal life. We see him from the point of view of those who knew him, but never learn much about his background and inner self. We know that he is very lonely and constantly looking for love, but we only catch glimpses of his numerous unsuitable boyfriends. His greatest passion, a young man called Alexander, is sent to South Africa by his parents, because they disapprove of the relationship. Although this leads to a suicide attempt by Cranko, little more is documented of their romance.This thirst for love, infuses his choreography. Although not radical by todays standards, his insistence that his dancers concentrate on emotion in preference to perfecting technique, was something new for the Stuttgart Ballet, and it was this philosophy which ultimately led to the company’s global success.Much is made of his disdain for convention. He threatens to quit the company unless he is able to hire Marcia Haydee, an inexperienced Brazilian dancer, who is not deemed pretty enough to be a ballerina. He flies into a rage when another female dancer reminds him that he has overrun their permitted working hours. He gets drunk too often and berates his gay principal male dancer for being bourgeois, unfeeling and uptight. And to top it all, he smokes in the non-smoking zones of the opera house.After his suicide attempt, and by the time his version of Onegin premiers in Germany, he has reached his creative peak, and is being feted internationally. In 1969 the company is invited to New York to perform at the Met. Despite having to give away tickets, as the provincial Stuttgart Ballet is an unknown quantity outside Germany, Onegin is a huge critical success, Marcia Haydee is hailed as ballet’s answer to Maria Callas, and the New York Times coins the term “Stuttgart Ballet Miracle”Somewhat later, when a letter from some of the German members the ballet company is published, complaining about the growing number of foreign dancers in the troop, Cranko is incensed, realising that German nationalism is still alive. He confronts the dancers with his belief that art has no borders and refuses to continue working with them, telling them to “do your German shit yourselves!” This leads him to another suicide attempt, but he has strong support from the majority of the company and a reconciliation follows.Perhaps it is this incident which emboldens him to create a new ballet, Traces, which deals with racism, homophobia and recent German history. In its final scene we see a crowd of men disrobe to reveal numbers tattooed on their backs. This outrages the Stuttgart audience and he is booed off stage, but Traces was to become one of his most important works.As a bookend to the film’s beginning, we see Cranko entering another plane flying the ballet company home to Germany after their 1973 USA tour. This time he is in a bright pink suit and is sober and charming to everyone. He takes his seat, pops some sleeping pills for the flight and a new ballet appears inhis eyes. Tragically, however, he does not wake from this dream.Then as a coda, we flashback to an interview. When asked for whom he makes ballets, Cranko pauses, and replies:“For myself.But I choreograph for God”.This feast of a film is a fitting tribute to a legendary figure of the dance world and is an immersive treat not only for ballet lovers. With a soundtrack featuring Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Verdi and Britten, seductive cinematography, art and lighting design and a bold performance by Sam Riley it is sure to appeal to many.