'Western Symphony' reviews 'Gardee' reviews Arbo in reviews recent Paris Opera Ballet reviews

November last year (yes, 6 months ago !) I booked a ticket -a bit out of frustration- because I couldn't get any ticket to see the annual 'démonstrations de l'école'. And so, on Saturday, I travelled to Paris to see the future in ballet...useless to tell : it was worth the effort !

What a delight to be -once again- in a busy Garnier ... filled this time with excited children, proud parents and grandparents. On the tunes of the preparing orchestra, a heartrending event : a ragdoll felt down from the amphi..., the tip-up seats sustained the tests again... only the dimming of the lights could stop the crescendo noise

Like most of precedent years, the school decided to show us 'two faces' : this time we were offered the classical "La Fille Mal Gardée" and the neo-classical "Western Symphony". I'm a bit reticent about sharing my thoughts on a schoolperformance...so, excuse me if my comments remind of 'walking on eggs'.

It's a long time I saw 'La Fille' and have to say this one-act choreography -with lots of mime-parts-by Mme Bessy, inspired on the version of Dimitri Romanoff, is tailored for a schoolperformance. The opening-tableau, with the half-opened barndoor crowned with a draped, pink "La fille mal gardée"-banner took us all way back in history....and what a relief : complete silence in the audience ! The enthusiasm and the abundance of superbly trained young dancers was a feast to the eye. The three different 'tableaux' were enchanted by a colourfull scenery. Marie-Laetitia Diederichs was a joyfull, expressive Lise, who tackled the important role with ease and youthfull dedication. Her Colas (Josua Hoffalt) was (most of the time) an attentive partner with great potential. But -to me- the revelation of the performance was Mehdi Angot as Alain. The character of Alain, a very welcome comic note to all the children, was introduced during a restaging of the ballet by Bronislava Nijinska in 1940. (I read in the interesting programme-notes) The young, immature and spoiled Alain has more interest in chasing butterflies than courtesing Lise. When he invaded the stage with his funny capers he was immediately the children's favourite. Mehdi was the perfect cast for the dolled-up Alain. A schoolexemple of the French mesmerizing feets and legs, an energetic, amazing quick dancer, with an astonishing capacity for acting....do we need more ??? And how can I forget about Mère Simone ?! What a treat to see Carole Arbo back on stage, in a character role this time. A 70 minutes ballet-feast without interval., with twirling skirts in the immaculate ensemble-dancing by the friends and peasants, radiant faces and a striking dedication for details - a bit long for some of the children in the audience- but I have loved every minute of it !

And maybe you're now thinking 'that's it' ? I truly wished it was, and I wasn't alone with this thought, even my neighbour and several other spectators didn't showed up after the interval. I can only agree completely with Katharine : Balanchine's "Western Symphony"is not appropriate for a performance by youngsters. Maybe it has something to do with my education : I had already nightmares when I heard that my daughter had to dance on stage in fishnet-tights, mini-shorts, white shirt and black tie some weeks ago ! The girls, dressed up in pink/black mini-tutu with dito feathers on the head, black tights and dito pointes, fingerless-gloves in black lace, the boys in the common cowboy-outfit. I'm sure the French are looking in a different way at this, but I for one couldn't push aside reminiscent thoughts of Moulin Rouge and other similar establishments. I agree the school needed another 'showcase' alongside a ballet as "La fille mal gardée", that has only a few roles to give the opportunity for dancers to shine. Apart from being not mature enough to tackle this revue-like choreography and some slight problems with the demanding tempi , the students did a good job, with fine highlights by the leading couples. The delicate Laurène Lévy made a good impression and good to see the talented Josua Hoffalt again in a role he seemed more at ease. Emilie Hasboun in 'Rondo - with the impressive hat- (reminding Tanaquil LeClercq in that role) was simply stunning. A sparkling finale enchanted the audience ... who encouraged the dancers with an endless applause ...

"Bravi" to all the young dancers,"hat-off" for the superb training and coaching .... ....please give them all the time to grow and mature slowly ..and the future will be bright