Starz Orders Ballet Drama Flesh and Bone to Series

Starz has announced that gritty ballet drama Flesh and Bone has been ordered to series, with production set to begin early this year for a 2015 debut.

“From the beginning, we all agreed this project could not go forward unless we found a world class dancer who had the ability to convey the widest range of emotions that Moira has written,” says Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz.  “This is one of the most challenging and dynamic characters I have ever seen and am thrilled to say we found our ‘Claire’ in Ms. Hay.”

The series, from Breaking Bad executive producer Moira Walley-Beckett, tells the story of young ballerina Claire (Sarah Hay), a talented dancer with a troubled past and self-destructive tendencies who joins a prestigious ballet company in New York. Flesh and Bone is said to explore the dysfunction and glamour of the ballet world through the eyes and experiences of Claire.

In addition to Hay, an acclaimed ballerina who danced in Black Swan, the series will feature the talents of American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Irina Dvorovenko and current soloist Sascha Radetsky, as well as Royal New Zealand Ballet artistic director and former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, the latter set to act as the show’s choreographer.

Flesh and Bone seems like it will be kicking off another strong year of originals for Starz, which will be premiering three new series this year in addition to the second season of Da Vinci’s Demons. Although the network has tended to focus on bigger, splashier fare with elaborate productions, present-day crime drama Power is set to premiere this summer, so something like Flesh and Bone wouldn’t be too much of a reach for them to air, especially if the show brings the strong visuals and complex, conflicted characters that tend to populate the Starz universe.

You can check out a video of Hay dancing below.

Will you be watching Flesh and Bone? Do you think the show will fit in along with the network’s other offerings? Who would you like to see join the cast?