{"id":22197,"date":"2021-06-21T11:33:50","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T18:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=films&#038;p=22197"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:24:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:24:22","slug":"when-im-her","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/when-im-her\/","title":{"rendered":"When I&#8217;m Her"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Cusumano was a luminary figure at American Ballet Theatre in New York, and had a stellar career ahead of him. But trauma from his past prevented him from fully realizing his artistic and professional potential. Over time, he finds refuge and liberation by assuming an alter ego: a sparkly turban-wearing, Russian ballet instructor named Madame Olga. By slipping into this ostentatious character, Michael discovers a way to both embrace himself as an artist and reconcile his past. Michael and Olga challenge the unspoken rule of dance: to be a disciplined dancer is to be an obedient dancer.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Olga challenges authority, taking on a life of her own and generating a following for her unconventional ballet classes. Through Olga, Michael is able to give aspiring dancers a place to flourish, and can be the mentor he never had for himself. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I&#8217;m Her <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">follows the double life of a dancer as he inhabits his alter ego, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">observes Michael and Olga in their most vulnerable moments<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Cusumano was a luminary figure at American Ballet Theatre in New York, and had a stellar career ahead of him. But trauma from his past prevented him from fully realizing his artistic and professional potential. Over time, he finds refuge and liberation by assuming an alter ego: a sparkly turban-wearing, Russian ballet instructor named [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":22198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1216,1248,1239,1288],"class_list":["post-22197","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-arts-and-culture","topic-dance","topic-identity","topic-lgbtq"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When I&#039;m Her - Independent Lens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A former ballet prodigy finds refuge in his alter ego, a Russian ballet instructor. 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