What happens when a man's body and the way he moves inspires fanaticism and adoration in a group of unfamiliar women? Many males may claim to know the answer to this question; they're probably lying.
But Adam Ballachey knows the answer: He spent three years following a group of male strippers from Tampa, Fla., and exposes their experiences in his new documentary American Dancer.
However, Ballachey's film is not merely a tell-all of the world of male strippers. In his words, the film is a "study of relationships between men and women." No doubt what he describes as the "unfiltered adulation of women" showered upon these men changes their perception of themselves and the women in their lives. Case in point: Johnny Styles, one of the four strippers profiled in American Dancer, says in the movie, "I never went up to a woman and said, 'Give me a hundred dollars for sex' it just happens."
American Dancer is not Ballachey's freshman attempt at documentary filmmaking. His interests in filmmaking were born out of a passion for still photography.
"I was always interested in photography," he said, and his interest in photography merged well with his interest in cultural anthropology. His desire has always been to tell stories about people with pictures. Ballachey cites the "limitations of still photography" and the power of combining image and sound as key motivators in pursuing documentary filmmaking.
Ballachey has worked on many documentary features for cable as a director of photography, including The Learning Channel's Police Force and their Emmy award-winning series Trauma, Life in the ER. In 1998, Ballachey produced, directed and shot the science-adventure documentary feature Search for Inca Gold for A&E.
How did Ballachey go from shooting footage for The Learning Channel to filming the provocative world of male strippers? The opportunity arose after a chance meeting with Mark Consuelos (All My Children) through a mutual friend, who is credited with the original concept of American Dancer. The wild lives of the male strippers seemed to offer a prime chance at creating a film that is entertaining to a large audience.
"I figured I should do one film I had complete creative control over before I sold out," joked Ballachey, adding that he is just as happy in the role of director of photography as in the role of director.
American Dancer's Sunday night screening at SXSW will be the film's world premiere. Ballachey will be leaving work behind when he comes to Austin for the SXSW screenings. He currently is developing a dramatic feature and has two documentaries in the works.
"It's great to get together with other smart, interesting people and do a fun project," Ballachey said of filmmaking. He added that what makes documentary filmmaking especially exciting is that he gets to "meet trippy people," like the ones in American Dancer, who as real-life characters, probably offer more than the average narrative hero.
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