Dancing On Glass (Las niñas de cristal) is a Spanish movie that recently came out in 2022. I watched it because one of the actors, Marta Hazas, promoted it on Instagram (ah yes, the powers of social media) and it looked interesting. There are quite a few famous Spanish actors who appeared in past shows I’ve reviewed, such as María Pedraza (Money Heist), Iría del Lío (Velvet and Cable Girls), and of course, Marta Hazas (Velvet, Velvet Colección, El internado).
This drama explores the pressure and damaging impact of being a professional ballet dancer. The protagonist, Irene, is cast as Giselle, after the suicide of a fellow dancer. Irene finds herself not only the star but in immediate threat from the other dancers, green with envy at her sudden stardom. However, throughout the rehearsals and the trials and tribulations that come with being a professional dancer, Irene meets Aurora, another talented dancer. Together, they form a co-dependent friendship, in an effort to cope with the pressure.
This movie is a drama and can be quite dark. However, if you’re interested in this topic and enjoy a darker Spanish drama, then this is a good film for you. If not, then I say skip this film, as it can be depressing. Some parts are longer than I would have liked, but by the end of the film, it made sense why they kept certain scenes that I at first thought weren’t important yet became vital to understanding the ending and the friendship between Irene and Aurora.
As far as appropriateness, I would say that this is not suitable for anyone under 18 years old given the plot and some explicit scenes. There are subtitles both in Spanish and in English for any language learners. All in all, it was a good film, but not my favorite.
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