Lucy Boynton Fan

Ballet Shoes

Lucy’s Role: Posy Fossil

Co-Stars: Emma Watson, Yasmin Paige, Emilia Fox, Victoria Wood, Richard Griffiths

First Aired: 3pm BBC1 (UK) on the 26th December 2007 but got a theatrical release in the USA

Film Genre: Period Drama, Book Adaption of Noel Streatfeild’s 1936 novel of the same name

Filmed: Began August 2007

DVD: Released 2008 Buy it here!

Production Companies: BBC Films, Granada Television

Film Synopsis: “Set in 1930s London, it tells the story of orphans Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil, adopted by the eccentric explorer Professor Brown known as “Gum” and raised as sisters by his selfless niece, Sylvia.” Read the full synopsis at the official site.

Casting and Makeovers

Out of the three sisters, Lucy was the second girl to be cast after Yasmin Paige was chosen to play Petrova. Heidi Thomas, the screenwriter for the adaption, oversaw the auditions and said in a promotional interview for the BBC;

“In auditions she was brilliant, lovable, but also hilariously funny, and we realised her delicate complexion would make her convincing as a redhead. So out came the scissors, the curlers and the dye.”

So after several sessions in the hairdressers chair, Lucy hair was dyed red. Lucy was reportedly rather nervous about the transformation and so the producers found an ally in Adriaane Pielou, Lucy’s journalist mother: “I persuaded her she had to suffer for her art.”

You can see the BBC Drama press release for the Ballet Shoes production from August 2007 here.

Learning to dance

Lucy’s character Posey is the girl who dreams of nothing but being a ballet dancer and so of course, Lucy had to brush up on her dance moves. Lucy took daily classes with the film’s choreographer, Sammy Murray-Brown, at visits to the Pineapple Dance Studio, London. Lucy loved these dance sessions, stating;

“I used to peep through the doors and watch professional dancers taking class. I was fascinated by the way they moved.”

Lucy did however have a dance double for the tricky ballet scenes and Lucy was “speechless watching her” [Source].

Critical Reception

The film recieved overall positive reviews with Lucy being praised for her role as Posey.The general response was that both the characters Posey and Petrova should have had more screen time.

“In fact, the three young leads do the material justice, extracting the right amount of heartbreak and jubilation as dreams are both achieved and destroyed.” [Brianorndorf.com]

“As for the young fossil girls I have to say Lucy Boyton was my favorite. She was spunky, funny and very Posy. She showed a maturity far beyond her years.” [IMDB]

“And finally Lucy Boynton, as Posy, impressed not only with her acting, but also with her ballet - finally, an actress playing a supposedly gifted dancer who really can dance beautifully.” [TV Scoop]

Videos and Clips

Check out these Ballet Shoes related clips featuring Lucy. Links lead to Youtube!

Lucy’s Scenes
A selection of scenes featuring Lucy - link leads to Veoh.

BBC One Christmas Preview
One of the BBC previews for Christmas 2007.

The American Trailer
The trailer for the Ballet Shoes release in the USA.

Ballet Shoes
A bit sneaky, but the link to the Ballet Shoes full feature playlist at Youtube.

The Ballet Shoes Page

I wrote this up in my own words using the credited sources so if you copy and paste without my permission I will hunt you down! Information credits go to all the linked articles, images and screencaps via IMDB and Krisatomic, owned and copyright to BBC. I do not claim to own the copyright to the images featured on this page. [See disclaimer]

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