Five principal ballerinas of the Czech National Theatre open up to London and Prague-based director Tereza Bila in this unflinching portrait of bodies pushed to the limit. Bila reveals the discipline and emotion involved not only when dancers step onto the stage, but in the hours and years that precede the moment of performance.

Speaking of the love and fear experienced by the dancers, the University of the Arts-educated filmmaker explains: "I was surprised by how strong, yet fragile, the ballerinas are—their bodies are strained to the limit. I became intrigued by ballet shoes as an extension of a dancer's body; the importance of a perfectly made, and prepared, shoe in the fate of their performance."