Maddie Ziegler’s new action film ‘Pretty Lethal’ features a new blend of dance and combat fighting: ‘Ballet-Fu’

When actress Maddie Ziegler first read the script for the film Pretty Lethal, which premiered at SXSW over the weekend, she was immediately drawn to it because of its authenticity—even if, sure, the ballerinas are also seen scrappily fighting like a bunch of feral cats. 

“There’s been so many dance films that have not accurately depicted what it’s like to be a real-life ballerina,” Ziegler said during a panel discussion at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW.

After first gaining fame as a young dancer on the reality show, Dance Moms, Ziegler had strayed from dance to instead pursue acting, and this project proved both emotional and cathartic for her. “It just completely made me fall in love with dance all over again,” she said.

The team behind Pretty Lethal is hoping audiences, too, fall in love with the story of a ballet troupe that’s thrust into a survival situation and must fight their way out—using techniques that come naturally.

The film also introduces audiences to the idea of “Ballet-Fu,” or combat fighting that’s grounded in some authenticity, while still leaning into some of the absurdity and fun of the situation, said Vicky Jewson, the director.

“They’re not John Wick, they’re dancers,” Jewson said. “Ballerinas are so tough—they have such high pain thresholds, their bodies are their armor—and that gave us room to play and create some action that you’d never seen before.”

Breaking new ground

Being a member of the cast of a female-led action movie was so fun that actress Avantika Vandanapu hopes she’ll have many more opportunities to take on more such roles in her future. 

“It’s such an adrenaline kick to be doing action,” she said, adding that the specificity of fight sequences also makes the movie fun to watch.

“There are things women think about when fighting, like you’re probably going to go for a man’s nuts,” she said.

While Jewson has her sights on directing more action films, and particularly ones starring women, she said that one of the hurdles is the high degree of technical skill required—which takes time to develop. The cast of Pretty Lethal, for example, spent about five weeks training up to 12 hours a day on both ballet and fight sequences. 

And then there are the Hollywood types who sometimes need some convincing, as was the case with some studio executives who were initially hesitant about greenlighting Pretty Lethal. “I think the word they used was offensive,” Jewson recalled.