In the critically acclaimed "Black Swan" Natalie Portman plays a sheltered ballerina who slowly unravels after getting the coveted lead role in "Swan Lake."

Valerie Harmon is a much more mentally stable dancer from the Milwaukee Ballet Company who performed in the ballet's 2006 production of "Swan Lake." Harmon, who grew up near Santa Barbara, Calif., joined the ballet full-time in 2008 after completing a two-year training program.

With Portman taking home a Golden Globe for the role, and the film still showing in several theaters around town, I decided to ask Harmon what she thought of the movie.

Harmon was kind enough to take a break to share her thoughts on the movie as she prepares for the remainder of the 2010-11 season and the ballet's upcoming production "Genesis," an international choreographic competition that runs Feb. 10-13.

Spoiler alert: If you haven't seen the movie there are a few details mentioned, but nothing that should ruin the movie for you.

OnMilwaukee.com: What did you think of the movie?

Valerie Harmon: I'd say it's a mixed review. It's not a movie that I can say one way or the other I loved or I hated. Parts of it I really enjoyed and parts of it I didn't love. I think that they did a great job, Natalie Portman especially, with the training that she did for the movie. You can tell she put the time into it and I really have a lot of respect for that.

And I liked the ballet that they used to kind of create this creepy movie. "Swan Lake" is the perfect story line for it with the innocence, with evil and interweaving that into a dancers life I thought was really well done.

OMC: I know you have danced in "Swan Lake" before, have you ever danced the lead role that Portman's character is performing?

VH: I didn't. That still kind of is one of my dream roles, ever since I was little; especially the role of what swan. For instance here in Michael Pink's version he uses two different women. One does White Swan, one does Black Swan, which has its pros and cons. It's a different interpretation and a lot of companies will have -- just like in the movies -- the same girl do White Swan and Black Swan. And choreographically they are so different, artistically so different and challenging in different ways. But I've never danced the lead in it and I'd say that's still one of my aspirations.

OMC: Is the role as challenging, then, as it's depicted in the film, because it's such a dynamic part?

VH: To make it believable and just the fact alone that you are a human depicting a swan. I think that's what is so beautiful to me about the ballet, to see dancers who embody that quality and the softness and the vulnerability of White Swan. It's incredible and there is a human aspect of that, because while you are an animal you are healing something also. The Black Swan part is usually technically and choreographically challenging. A little more dynamic usually and so that is hard in its own way as well, especially if you are working on both parts to have that daily switch in a day's work. I would imagine it would be really difficult.

OMC: The movie touches on the physical toll that dancing at that level can take on your body. Have you suffered any injuries along the way?

VH: I have been really lucky, knock on wood. I have been pretty injury-free, and some people are luckier than others. I honestly think genetics has a lot to do with it. Some people's bodies are more susceptible to it and when being placed under stress don't hold up as well. And just the fact alone though that you are dancing 8 hours a day and rehearsing is hard on your body, so injuries are a common thing.

There is definitely a tie-in to how you take care of yourself. If you are good to your body, hopefully it will be good to you. But they are kind of inevitable, and fortunately or unfortunately I guess it does provide career opportunities for people sort of as it's shown in the movie. If you show up late one day and there's plenty of people waiting to take your spot. Especially being a female. There are so many little girls that want to grow up and be a dancer and there are only so many spots.

OMC: The level of competition is depicted as being really cutthroat and catty in the movie is it like that at times?

VH: I think it depends a lot on where you are. What kind of company you are dancing for. In Milwaukee we are actually a very supportive company and some of that I think is because all of the dancers have a very different style, different strengths, different weaknesses and they really encourage us to be our own dancer and not necessarily fit some cookie cutter mold. We all come from different background and training, too, so here it is a very supportive environment because there is only so much you can learn from each other.

But there is still some of that. Every time a new choreographer comes in everyone wants to stand in the front, but the competition in some ways makes everyone better because it makes everyone work harder. No matter where you are there is always that twist on the competition, and there is always going to be someone unhappy with casting, too. You just kind of work smartly and enjoy what you can.

OMC: You mentioned the 8 hour days you put in. What is your training regimen like? What goes in to dancing at the level that you do?

VH: We start out with class every day. It's our warm up, your chance to keep practicing technique and keep improving really. So we have our warm up every hour and a half and then from there we have six hours of rehearsal. Some days are harder than others. We work Monday through Friday except when we are performing, then our schedule kind of shifts to the evenings. We usually spend about five weeks rehearsing for a particular performance and then the last week includes tech time in the theater plus performing.

OMC: What did you dislike about the movie?

VH: I guess I have to make one disclaimer. Every different dancer you talk to would probably have slightly different takes because we have all been different places. I didn't love how much of a little girl they tried to keep Natalie Portman's character. I understand that it's a young career and most people can't dance past the age of 40 or so, but for me that was a little extreme keeping her so innocent; her pink bedroom with her stuffed animals and living with her mom still. If it would have been to a lesser degree I think it would have made it more believable.

I did like that they make the artistic director a very unlikeable character, only because there are so many tough personalities out there in the dance world. I thought some of the situations were a bit on the extreme side, but the movie seemed to play with extremes and to really go one way or the other the whole time. So I guess it's keeping in line with everything. There are little aspects as a dancer that I loved.

When he first walks in the room even the mind game of tapping girls on the shoulder and saying "The ones I didn't tap you're the ones that are supposed to come to the rehearsal." Just the mind games, being a dancer and working with all sorts of personalities you have the people that will do something like that and the people who are just normal and nice and very professional. That also comes from their backgrounds, too. Choreographers grew up with people who were playing mind games all of the time, and they are likely to carry it on.

OMC: There is a scene in the movie where Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis characters go out on an all night party binge the night before rehearsal. Any way you could pull that off?

VH: Oh no. There are people that probably could do it. That's not me so much. That was sort of an interesting twist, that it was her competition who takes her for a night out. People, I think, in any career, when it's that competitive, will stoop to that level and do anything.

OMC: Are you excited for the rest of the season? Is there any particular part you will be dancing you are looking forward to?

VH: The rest of the season is a mixed bag for the most part. You usually don't find out about casting too far in advance. The next two series we do are mixed rep shows. Especially for the next one we have three choreographers creating three brand new works. So you really never know what to expect until you get started, which is fun. It's a challenge and really pushes you to the bounds of your limits.

Then we actually finish the season with "Coppelia," which is a very traditional piece. And I believe from what I have heard we are sticking to pretty classical choreography. So classical ballets are a challenge in their own way. Even though that's the kind of stuff we are practicing in class every day it's hard. There is a reason they call it practice and you do it all the time.

OMC: One of the interesting details of the movies was Natalie Portman's character prepping her ballet shoes. Is that something everyone does?

VH: Everyone has a very specific routine, down to how you sew your own ribbons and elastic onto the shoes. It's so individual. Some of those little details I thought were really well done. You could tell someone had spent some time observing and talking to dancers.

OMC: How long have you been involved in the ballet?

VH: I have been dancing since I was 5 years old. A really long time. Granted in the beginning it starts out pre-ballet, creative movement type stuff. I grew up doing ballet, tap and jazz, so I dabbled in a lot of different styles.

This is actually my fifth year in Milwaukee. I was in their trainee program for two years, so that's interesting as far as the idea of competition. The training program usually has somewhere between 15 and 18 dancers and you all are hoping for a job if not here somewhere else. People are just really driven, really motivated, and trying to achieve perfection all of the time. So I did that for two years and was lucky enough to get a job here after that.

So this is my third season actually with the company, and like I said I really like it. I like that we have diverse performing opportunities every year. We do the classics, but we also get to do some of this contemporary work or neo-classical just to keep you challenged and motivated and inspired.