'Flesh and Bone' Sneak Peek: There's No Cell Phone in Ballet

Moira Walley-Beckett, the Emmy-winning Breaking Bad writer and exec producer who created the new Starz series Flesh and Bone premiering Nov. 8, likes to thinks of it not as a ballet drama but “one girl’s journey through shark-infested waters.” In the exclusive clip above from the premiere, one of those sharks is about to bite emotionally-scarred aspiring ballerina Claire (professional dancer Sarah Hay).

We see how Paul (House of Cards’ Ben Daniels), the artistic director of New York City’s fictional American Ballet Company, reacts when Claire’s cell phone rings during rehearsal. It’s not pretty. He barks at her to leave, then demands she stay and perform the sequence he was teaching them flawlessly if she has any hope of remaining in the company.

Even though the clip cuts before she dances, the season runs eight episodes, so you can guess that she succeeds. The sequence will be the first time viewers see Claire dance. In a clever twist, Walley-Beckett builds the anticipation by not showing Claire as she auditions earlier in the episode — instead, the camera focuses on Paul’s face and his reaction.

“I thought it would be really powerful to show it through Paul’s eyes and also to wait, so that we’re much more invested in her by the time Paul humiliates her and she has to perform under pressure and prove herself to us body and soul,” Walley-Beckett says. “We come to understand that her damage is sort of her superpower, to a certain degree.”

Flesh and Bone premieres Nov. 8 at 9 p.m. on Starz. All eight episodes will be immediately available on Starz Play and Starz on Demand.