"Dancing Across Borders," directed by newcomer Anne Bass, is a tale of Western chauvinism at its best. This documentary tells the story of Sokvannara "Sy" Sar, a young Cambodian dancer whom Bass, a New York socialite and prominent patron in the ballet world, discovers. While the story of Sy's success is nothing short of miraculous, the film fails to confront the price that Sy pays to attain a dream that was never truly his. Although Sy's story is one of personal triumph, the question lingers at the end of the film as to whether he would have been happier living at home with his own traditions and culture.
In the film, Bass travels to Cambodia and watches a local dance troupe. There, a young boy with natural dance talent catches her eye: Sy, then 16 years old. After she leaves, Bass is unable to get the boy off of her mind. As the wealthy ex-wife of billionaire Sid Bass, she offers a sponsorship for him to be brought to the United States. With no knowledge of English, Sy is whisked away from his home in Siem Reap, the site of Angkor Wat.
However, after Sy arrives in New York City in April of 2000, he is denied entrance to the New York's School of American Ballet (SAB), despite Bass being on the school's board, because of his lack of ballet training and inability to speak English. Bass asks Olga Kostritsky, an instructor at SAB, to give him private lessons over the summer and finds translators to help Sy communicate. After gaining admission that August, Sy spends the next five years training and learning English. Through Sy's own natural grace and his hard work, he quickly improves to become one of the school's most talented ballet dancers.
The dancing in this film is stunning. Throughout the film, the audience witnesses Sy's transformation from a traditional Cambodian dancer to a professional ballet dancer. Although kids half his age possess more ballet training, Sy beats the odds against him and becomes a member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. As a dancer, he is special because he displays passion and spirit that Western dancers so often lack.
Nevertheless, Sy's dream before meeting Bass had never been to learn ballet — he had no idea what ballet even was. His main reason for leaving home was to improve the lives of his family. Though being offered a place in a professional dance troupe is a tremendous achievement, the film does not address where Sy should go from there. A big "now what?" is left hanging in the air.
The redeeming quality of this film is Sy's grace and charm. Sy came to the United States for one thing alone: to become a better dancer in order to help his family. He does not seem to get caught up in the socialite ballet world that the producers of this film belong to, and after a few years, he starts to really enjoy Western dancing. However, at times, "Dancing Across Borders" seems to be a self-congratulatory pat on the back for Bass, Kostritsky and the other people who helped Sy in order to fulfill their own dreams.
As a documentary, "Dancing Across Borders" leaves a few unresolved issues. It fails to question Bass' choice to sponsor Sy, or whether ballet is really superior to Cambodian dance. However, Sy does end up finding a way to support his family and visits yearly to reconnect with his roots. Even if viewers walk away with a bitter taste in their mouths, Sy's charm and grace alone make this film worth seeing.
