Tonight is the premiere of Flower, a new film starring world-renowned ballerina Misty Copeland with LINES Ballet company artist Babatunji and choreography by Alonzo King at the Tribeca Festival! A short movement-based narrative film, Flower seeks to highlight intergenerational equity in American cities, including homelessness, gentrification, and elder care, while exposing people to dance performance. The project, set in Oakland, hopes to bring awareness to the social issues that affect all of us by telling one community’s stories.
Directed by Lauren Finerman, Flower also features choreography by icons Rich and Tone Talauega, former LINES Dance Center teacher Christina Johnson as Misty’s character’s mother, and music by Grammy-winning recording artist Raphael Saadiq. Additional showings of Flower are on June 10, 12, and 17 at the festival. Streaming from home is also available from June 19 through July 2.
In honor of the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Festival, we asked Babatunji a few questions about his experience working with Misty and Alonzo.
Interview with Babatunji by Erin McKay
How did you get involved in the film Flower?
I was brought into the mix by Alonzo. Misty was trying to find a costar who had high capability in both hip hop and ballet dance styles. She asked Alonzo to choreograph for the project and then asked him if he knew anyone who fit the bill for her film partner. He threw my name into the mix, I got an interview, and the rest is history.
What did you learn from Misty Copeland during the process?
Misty is one of the kindest, most caring humans I’ve been able to meet in this lifetime, and on top of that, she’s an amazing dancer.
When I stepped into my first rehearsal with Misty, I was extremely intimidated and very starstruck. Within minutes, her warm and inviting nature helped to melt away the nerves I had coming into this collaboration.
Her work ethic and drive are unparalleled. Our rehearsal process was during the pandemic, so to watch her go from chillin’ at home for a whole year to working with Alonzo was like 0 to 100! I was shocked and in awe. As hard as it was, she always rose above the challenges and pushed for even more.
How were the rehearsals for the film with Alonzo?
Honestly, working on the film with Alonzo was one of the most joyous experiences I’ve shared with him. We worked extremely hard and pushed…very similar to how we work in the company at LINES Ballet. But these rehearsals felt different. There was a lightness to them that never detracted from the work. I watched Alonzo and Misty share stories together, reliving nostalgia from their careers in dance. It was like watching two old friends come back together after many years apart. It was all very inspiring, and I felt fortunate just to be witnessing the exchange between two black dance legends.
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