Flesh and Bone: David Michod to Direct the Series Premiere

Starz has announced that acclaimed director David Michod (Animal Kingdom) has been tapped to helm the first episode of upcoming ballet drama Flesh and Bone, which will begin production in New York this spring.

“I’m entirely enamored of the visual, visceral, artful way David tells story,” said creator Moira Walley-Beckett.  “His style and sensibility is very much in alignment with my vision of my show.”

Flesh and Bone tells the story of Claire (Sarah Hay), a troubled ballet dancer who joins a company in New York and soon discovers that the world she was so desperate to belong to might not be what she expected when viewed from the inside. The show will also feature the likes of former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Irina Dvorovenko, current American Ballet Theatre soloist Sascha Radetsky, and Ballet Arizona company dancer Raychel Diane Weiner, with former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel to serve as series choreographer.

In addition to his work on the 2010 crime thriller that earned Jacki Weaver an Oscar nomination, Michod has directed an episode of Enlightened, a series of shorts, and films such as The Rover and Solitary Endeavour on the Southern Ocean. He’s the latest film director to helm a series premiere for Starz, as Neil Marshall (The Descent) was behind the first episode of Black Sails, Carl Franklin (Devil in a Blue Dress) anchored the Magic City series premiere, and Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho) took the reins on premiere of Boss.

Flesh and Bone will premiere on Starz sometime in 2015. Further information on the series should be released in the coming months.

Will you be watching Flesh and Bone? Do you think Michod’s aesthetic will set a strong precedent for the first season of the show? What other directors would you like to see navigate the world of New York City ballet?