'On Pointe' takes unprecedented look inside School of American Ballet on Disney+

NEW YORK -- Now you can look inside the School of American Ballet with unprecedented access with the Disney+ docu-series "On Pointe."

Director Larissa Bills says the show follows the lives of the students ages 8 to 18 as they pursue their dreams and audition for the New York City Ballet's "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker."

"The ideal would be to segue into the New York City Ballet, the school is affiliated with the company," Bills said. "It's a really magical experience for the kids to be on stage with the company dancers."

The audition process for the children had not been captured before and Bills said it was exciting to have access to it.

As the director, she was able to find the storylines that emerged as she followed the dancers and those who run the school.

Filming ran from last year's holiday season all the way through March, so it captured the beginning of the pandemic, and the school's response.

"I think what's so encouraging and so hopeful is that these students are still working towards those goals, they're just having to do it in the setting that we all are right now," she said.

With "The Nutcracker" being a holiday favorite, Bills said it was a "very fortuitous" time for the series to premiere. You can watch it this Friday, December 18 on Disney+.

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