happy to be so...

Oleg Briansky & Mireille Briane: A Lifetime of Dance

"An affectionate and often funny portrait celebrating 50 years of a wonderful
yin and yang partnership in classic ballet and married life."

— Clive Barnes, New York Post

happy to be so… depicts an extraordinary couple united for more than 50 years. This film light-heartedly documents the lives of Oleg Briansky and Mireille Briane, former principal dancers, and nationally renowned ballet teachers. As you sit across the couch from the Brianskys, their lifelong stories unfold, alongside their humorous agreements and disagreements.

Briansky, of White Russian descent, and Briane, a Parisian, met in Paris, both leading dancers in various European companies. He, born to dance, and she, born to teach. A great, well-known artist, Briansky was hailed as “the most sought after male dancer in the world” at the time by Ballet magazine. He partnered many ballet luminaries such as Alicia Markova and Margot Fonteyn and was a friend of Princess Grace of Monaco.

In 1963, Briansky's meteoric career was cut short by injury and arthritis. Soon after, the couple relocated to New York and established the Briansky Saratoga Ballet School, one of the most distinguished summer ballet academies in the United States and abroad.

happy to be so... portrays the Brianskys as performers and narrators of their own life stories, which are highlighted by beautiful footage from the 50s and 60s. Piano music from ballet class weaves throughout the film as the score of their lives. The film honors these two people whose personalities have complemented each other—a couple that continues to work, still vibrant with creativity, curiosity, and good-humored, married-couple arguing.

Documentary feature: 47 minutes, English, color

Production Team

Director and Producer - Yelena Demikovsky
Executive Producer - Brian Singh
Camera - Hassan Kamel
Editor - Fatima Benbrahim

Awards

The Indie Fest, Award of Merit

Screenings

• Happy To Be So... was screened at The New York Independent International Film and Video Festival on March 22, 2009.
• NewFilmmakers NY sponsored a screening on March 10, 2009 at Film Anthology Archives in New York City.
• New York International Independent Film and Video Festival (NYIIFVF):
  Los Angeles Thurs. Dec. 11th, 2008 6:00 pm
• World Premiere, Dance on Camera Film Festival, January 2008
  Rochester Dance on Film Festival, November 7-9, 2008, Rochester, NY