If you’re still craving some Black Swan style ballet drama – This is the short for you.

We open with some pretty intense booming music and a Lovecraft quote, which immediately tells you that this will be one very dark story. The screen fades up to a static landscape shot of a ballet studio. Slowly students come in and begin stretching and preparing for a ballet class. It all seems very normal, yet there is an eeriness to it through the lack of bright colours, and the subtly disturbing music.

Eventually the Madame comes in, played by Melissa Miller. She is a stern force and immediately gets the girls working hard. Through the rehearsal we focus in on one particular dancer, Ellie (played by Courtney Costa). It’s clear that the other dancers don’t respect Ellie that much, and one in particular (played by Nina Roes) has it out for Ellie. It’s impossible to discuss what follows without spoiling it, but trust me when I say it’s well worth watching.

Once again, George Fraser delivers some truly brilliant music choices, with the climax of the film combining Brahm’s ‘Tragic Overture, OP. 81’ with some darker techno-style music. It’s a brilliant juxtaposition between the grace and delicacy of ballet, and the darker, badass side of Ellie. There’s also a tune that happens in the middle of the film that has a very Stevie Nicks, Jefferson Airplane kind of vibe.

The lighting in this one is especially notable when Ellie returns to her home. Fraser makes excellent use of candles and shadows in this scene, and in the very final shot there is some psychedelic coloured lighting showing Ellie’s dancing.

Obviously Fraser’s direction and choices are brilliant here, but it would be a travesty not to mention the extremely talented dancers involved. The actors are clearly all trained ballet dancers, and show fabulous control and precision in their movements. There are two choreographed pieces that we get to watch almost in full and it’s a joy to see such skill play out.

Fraser’s Balletomane is a delightful mixture of the delicacy of ballet, and the darker side of revenge and jealousy. With some extremely talented dancers/actors and and interesting story told with very little dialogue; there is a richness to this film that makes it very enjoyable.