Finally, a dance show with REAL dancers. The series introduces a new actor and ballerina Sarah Hay, a real ballerina with lots of talent. Sarah is new to acting who would have thought it her portrayal of a darkly disturbed and emotionally challenged dancer who holds dark secrets was simply awe inspiring. Her use of pain to deal with emotions she did so well and I almost believed this was the real Sarah not Claire she had me believing in her character. Flesh and Bone for me I think a mixture of Gothic horror, and fairy tale. Was Claire a Princess escaping a prison and her abusive past. The ending at episode 8, was certainly down to a fairy tale, with the Knight slaying the Dragon to help the damsel in distress.Claire escapes her home to get away from a bully of a father who is disabled and very demanding, and a brother who is suffering with PTSD after coming back from Afghanistan who is also deeply disturbed. Was Claire the only victim in her life growing up? I don't think she was I feel her brother was also a victim of the violent father who treated them both like his slave. I feel the two simply became one to get through the life they had, and turned to each other in an incestuous way. I think they both needed each other and I believe Claire needed her brother more then he needed her in the end, as he had time to get away to the Marines and realise perhaps his life wasn't as bad as he thought it was, as he had seen far worse horrors in Afghanistan then in his own life and tried to get away from her in the end. There are dark secrets to this relationship which will explain in part why Claire is so emotionally in a mess but I won't say anything as it will spoil it but there are tiny little clues if you look for them. Claire arrives in New York and goes for an audition to a ballerina company which is virtually surviving on fresh air. She meets Paul the creative director, who sucks his dancers dry and lives in his own hell and dealing with his own demons. He is almost like a Svengali and manipulates and controls all around him and if they dare to question his methods will use his sinister influences to make their lives hell. He treats people who love him like dirt, he holds them all at arm's length because of the loss of his only love. He is cruel horrible at times, but then can turn into a mesmeric character who can get the best out of people especially when it suits him. Claire moves in with Mia who has a mother who smothers her, Mia has an eating disorder and other issues. We even have time in 8 episodes to meet Sergei Zelenkov. A man who loves ballet, but not a man to be trifled with. He runs a strip club where another principal dancer who is privileged and comes from a rich family Daphne moonlights and introduces Claire to this world. Claire is drawn there on several occasions when she is herself in a bad emotional place, and ends up working alongside Daphne until she realises that Sergei is running a sex slave operation and is actually working with the likes of the Russian Mob. We also meet my favorite character in the series. The amazing Romeo who is played expertly by one Damon Herriman who has been in many films and started off in The Sullivans a successful Soap in Australia. Romeo lives under the flats the girls live he is homeless. Romeo is a complex character perhaps an undiagnosed schizophrenic who has taken it upon himself to look after the two girls. He is also writing a book and shares this knowledge with Claire as towards the end he wants her to read it, he believes he is perhaps a soothsayer, someone who can see what is going to happen in the world, and suddenly this book is the most important thing in his life, and is entwined in the fates of the main characters. In Episode 8 as I have mentioned above he becomes her knight in shining armour and slays the dragon as Claire had earlier told him he was the Knight as in his story he had wrote he had cast himself as the fire eating dragon, but she told him he wasn't that, he was the knight …. And by saying that Bryan her brothers fate was sealed. The end of the series is simply amazing, not only do we see fantastic ballet but unfolding behind the scenes is horror which takes your breath away. The last scene of Claire standing looking in the mirror with Paul the director standing behind her will haunt me for a long time, the look in her eyes when she defies Paul is perfection. You can see she is finally free and curtain goes down. I can't believe the company Starz who made this fantastic series, never continued it with a season 2, I think it would have been great to have finished off all the stories, all the other characters their stories, it would have been so easy to achieve. WARNING. This is powerful over 18, with sexual content of a nature which may upset people.

If you are reluctant to start this series, please do not be. This series was thrilling form the absolute beginning to the end, it's honestly one of it's kind. The combination of art and pain is just riveting, and I request every single person to watch it. I honestly wish it was longer, I really do. Utterly amazing. (I really just created an account just now so I could write this review)

I just got off an eight hour binge of this show. I have a lot going through my mind right now. I'm accustomed to sex in shows, but the first few episodes were really in your face with it. It made me feel like I was watching a soft core. Luckily, as the series progressed the episodes began to explore other themes, though sex, desire, and lust remained prominent throughout the series. I did question whether some of the sex plots were necessary, like the plot with the underage girls on the yacht and the plot with Cameron in the strip club. After all, they were both sort of unresolved. I'm also fairly confused as to why they made a big deal out of her being a stiff, unfeeling virgin when she had already had sex with her brother. That was another freaky plot that might not have been necessary.It seemed like the show writer really hated Mia. Vision problems, an eating disorder, and a rape? All necessary? Probably not. Why was the character of Mia tortured throughout the series? To show that a dancer's career is finite? Well, point proved.I have never seen a show like this before. I loved the character of Romeo - he was so complex and deeply interesting (perhaps my favorite). I feel that he needed to kill the brother. I completely understood that. The dance pieces were spectacular. They floored me! Everyone should watch this. Mandatory viewing.

Because all previous reviews are Long, here's a quickie.My hubby stumbled on this ten stars surprise hit. We are captivated.Was happily surprised I didn't have to wait for next week episodes. They all streamed back to back, and I want more more more. Can they be two hour episodes please. Please. We both are addicted. Can't wait for the next season.Im going to now research if the cast is ballerinas that act, or actors that trimmed down to anorexia and learned beautiful perfect ballet. We love this show. Addicting and excellent entertainment.