Flesh and Bone “Bulling Through” 

Full disclosure: I wanted to be a ballerina when I was little. I even took classes. I remember being excited about the leotard and tights and practicing at the bar. But I didn’t have the talent, patience or drive to keep at it so at the ripe old age of 10, I quit. I studied other forms of dance, but I knew I’d never be very good. But what I lack in talent, I make up for in appreciation. I love to watch talented dancers perform and Claire is a revelation.

But she’s also incredibly damaged. She took a three year break from dancing because of a family situation, a situation we don’t know too much about because she runs away from home in the opening minutes of this episode. All we know so far is that she kept a lock on her door at home. But was that to keep her father or her brother out? Why did she pick that moment – when her brother was knocking on her door – to flee? Did she feel safe enough when he was deployed that she could be at home? Why did she have to give up dancing?

I have so many questions, but the biggest one is: how does Claire not know what an amazing dancer she is? She seems to have no clue about how good she is. Maybe her traumatic past both contributes to the beauty of her dancing, but also makes her blind to the strength of her technique. I don’t know how to talk about her dancing technically. All I can say is that my eyes enjoy the movements and that not only Claire’s face but the way she moves her body makes me feel things. Of course, I want to learn more about how she became so damaged, but I wouldn’t complain if this show was wall-to-wall dancing either.

Should we take a closer look at some of the other players? We’ve got Paul, who is the Artistic Director of American Ballet Company. He’s an egomaniacal control freak. It’s his way or the highway and he isn’t shy about telling the dancers that they belong to him. Who thinks like this? Apparently a genius artistic director who’s willing to do almost anything to get his way. And now Claire is his muse. I worry for both of them.

Daphne works as an exotic dancer in her off time, although it’s not clear why. It seems like she’s got family money – if her apartment and the tales of her summer are anything to go by. But Claire is clearly intrigued and likes to watch. Her roommate, Mia, is an exhibitionist who likes to have sex. Mia knows all the other girls will be jealous of Claire because she only had to try out for the company once. She also knows the company won’t be doing the same old tired number after Claire’s called into the studio early one day. The only other ballerina we’ve learned something about is Kiira, Paul’s former muse. She’s addicted to something illegal and when Claire makes it clear that she knows about – and has taken – some of Kiira’s stash, things start to get interesting.

Right now Claire seems pretty naive. Ross called her a virgin and when she’s tasked to seduce the Chairman, she bumbles through it enough to at least charm him. It’s when he sees her dance that he realizes why Paul is so excited about discovering Claire. If they play their cards right, this can work out well for all of them.

But it remains to be seen if Claire can be molded. The raw talent is there, but I worry if Paul pushes her too much she’ll push back. Claire can be quiet, but she’s not a total doormat. She’s too hard on herself and prone to inflicting self-harm. And I’m kind of scared for the show to delve into whatever’s going on with Bryan and whatever made her flee home. But I do like dark, so I’m excited for this ride.

Flesh and Bone airs Sundays at 8/7c on Starz.