I saw this film on PBS, probably KQED (Channel 9) in San Francisco,
maybe in about 1980.  It was probably a 30-minute dramatic film, and
its title may have been "The Rehearsal."  The setting is a modern
dance studio, and the characters are professional dancers preparing
for a performance.  The focal character is a female dancer who becomes
romantically involved with a fellow dancer named Mark.  When the
romance breaks up, they still have to work together in the troupe.  In
the dramatic high point of the story, the dancers are told to pair off
for a choreographed exercise.  The young woman is not quick enough in
choosing a partner, and in a moment she sees that she is left with
Mark.  She turns away and begins the exercise with a piece of
equipment as stand-in for a partner.  The instructor comes over to her
and says, "You're a professional.  You have to dance with Mark."  And
she does.  The dance numbers themselves make up probably more than
half of the film; my recollection is that a fairly thin story line was
used to give a unified theme to a sequence of dances.  Yet there was
something about it that was poignant enough to remember.

Is this enough of a description to find the film if it exists?

Thank you,
Apteryx

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 10 Feb 2004 00:52 PST

Hi Apteryx,

"His nationally acclaimed 1980 television production, The Rehearsal,
received an Emmy Award, the PBS Award, and the Ohio State Award. "
http://www.giordanojazzdance.com/gusgiordano.htm

"Many of the company's early performances were broadcast on Chicago's
public television station, WTTW; one of them, a seventeen-minute pas
de deux called The Rehearsal, choreographed by Gus Giordano, won an
Emmy Award in 1980."
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1083/8_76/89580911/p3/article.jhtml?term=

Does this sound like your film?

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 10 Feb 2004 00:59 PST

The summary below definitely sounds like what you describe...

"The Rehearsal.  
Evanston, Ill. : Orion Enterprises, 1980. 
1 videocassette (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS format. 
CAST:Gus Giordano, Jeffrey Mildenstein, Julie Walder, Gus Giordano
Jazz Dance Chicago.
 NOTES:Choreographer, Gus Giordano. 
SUMMARY:During a dance class, two dancers who dislike each other must
rehearse a pas de deux that is a celebration of love."
http://libweb.uoregon.edu/music/dancevid.html

Hi Apteryx,

I'm going to go ahead and answer based on the information that I mentioned above.  

"The Rehearsal.  
Evanston, Ill. : Orion Enterprises, 1980. 
1 videocassette (28 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. VHS format. 
CAST:Gus Giordano, Jeffrey Mildenstein, Julie Walder, Gus Giordano
Jazz Dance Chicago.
 NOTES:Choreographer, Gus Giordano. 
SUMMARY:During a dance class, two dancers who dislike each other must
rehearse a pas de deux that is a celebration of love."
http://libweb.uoregon.edu/music/dancevid.html

"His nationally acclaimed 1980 television production, The Rehearsal,
received an Emmy Award, the PBS Award, and the Ohio State Award. "
http://www.giordanojazzdance.com/gusgiordano.htm

The title, plot, year and network (PBS) all match your description, so
this must be it.

I called the Giordano company at 847-866-6779. The person with whom I
spoke indicated that the company sells a video of 'The Rehearsal' for
$35.  She wasn't 100% sure that it was in stock at the moment and said
she'd need to check on that, but I got the impression that even if
it's not immediately available, it is something that they can get for
you eventually.
Giordano Co. Contact information.
http://www.giordanojazzdance.com/Contact%20Us.htm

--------
search strategy:
"the rehearsal", "1980 television", pbs

I hope this helps.

Bull's eye, juggler.  That has to be it.  Nice going.  I attempted
this one (I always try my own searches first) and got so many hits
that I thought it was going to be like researching my question about
the word "the."  You did a terrific job--using information I supplied
but didn't use well myself!  That's what makes you an ace and me a
customer.  (However, I give myself pretty good marks for memory.)

Apteryx

Apteryx,
Thank you for the tip.  Yep, your memory was amazingly accurate (right
down to the exact year). Thanks again.
-juggler