kameliendame

Some updates on the matter: An interview with Stéphane Lissner, general director of the Opéra, about the survey: http://www.parismatch.com/Culture/Spectacles/Stephane-Lissner-directeur-de-l-Opera-de-Paris-On-ne-peut-pas-tout-accepter-1513193 and an interview with Dupont, her first reaction since the survey leaked (its behind a paywall though) https://www.lejdd.fr/culture/opera-de-paris-mise-en-cause-la-directrice-du-ballet-aurelie-dupont-repond-3697859 Another article paraphrasing her interview, free to read: http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2018/07/02/03004-20180702ARTFIG00124-aurelie-dupont-souhaite-sortir-de-la-tourmente-le-ballet-de-l-opera-de-paris.php Notice how Lissner is trying to downplay the results of the survey, saying the person who leaked it might have tampered with the original file... im shocked he would go to this length, especially considering since the dancers were asked about pretty serious (not to mention criminal) issues like sexual harassment. He also mentions a similar crisis back in 2012 when a majority of the company send a letter to the minister of culture asking for the immediate departure of Lefèvre. I guess it didn't work because she stayed on for two more years. I don't think Dupont will leave either. She seems to be pretty resolute in her interview, saying she wants to engage in conversation with her dancers which is good. She also mentioned something about a male employee who was fired, I couldn't figure out if it was because of the survey or she's just talking about an incident in the past. I have to add that everything in this survey complies with what ive heared was happening in the company through a friend of mine, way before this document was leaked. I never really wanted to talk about it on forums and the like because after all, I heard everything via-via and nothing was official, but after seeing the results of this survey I can freely talk about it. Dupont has definitely not made a good impression on her dancers (especially the corps) since her appointment, most of them saying they feel like theyre invisible/not being appreciated etc and it really shows in the survey, with a stunning 90% not being happy with the way the company is being managed. I REALLY hope she'll take the results of this survey to heart because these are not the kind of numbers that you would want to brush aside. I don't necessarily think this survey will be the end of Dupont (she doesn't seem like a quitter to me, not to mention after the abrupt departure of Millepied I don't think its smart for yet another AD to leave prematurely) however I don't think shell stay on for long either. My guess is she'll be ad till 2020, when Manuel Legris' contract at Vienna will end and he will probably take over at POB then. Right now he seems to be the most probable successor. Le Riche could be a good candidate too, especially now that he has experience in managing a company. He's been AD with the Swedish royal ballet since 2017.

On the Thibault topic: its a shame indeed, that he was never promoted to Etoile. His talent was evident even as child. There is this fragment in a documentary about POB school where we can see Roland Petit coaching a very young Thibault in the role of the Drumming Boy in his Les Forains, a technically difficult solist role usually preserved for the most promising male students. To shine a light on why he never got promoted: I have a friend who knows him, and many other POB dancers, and talks to them regularly. She says it was his short height that kept him from being an Etoile. The company prefers tall danseur nobles like Mathieu Ganio for example, because they are better at partenering than their short colleagues. This is also why François Alu hasnt been promoted yet, and it explains why younger (but taller) dancers like Hugo Marchand and Germain Louvet got a promotion before him. Its a pity, because iv never seen a problem with his partnering at all, especially when paired with Myriam Ould Braham for example. An absolute dream couple!! Scudamore will not be nominated to Coryphée automatically, by the way. The dancers who win the concours get a permanent contract and will be joining as Quadrille. For the next concours they will be starting all over again, if they choose to compete. I think the reason why no male dancer was offered a contract was because they already had four from the internal concours? Or maybe no one was 'good enough' to get a contract? I remember last year Loick Pireaux (a POB school graduate!) ended first but didnt get a contract- the empty spot was then offered to Katherine Higgins, who was in third place. A pity for Pireaux but what a pleasant surprise it must have been for Higgins.

Very pleased with this season's promotions!! Just like everyone else im thrilled to see Naghdi in the highest rank, she doesnt deserve anything less. Also very very happy with Sambé as First Soloist. First noticed him about four years ago, and I remember being aboslutey shocked he was still in the corps de ballet, as I thought hed be soloist at least by the look of his dancing! ive been following his career ever since and this promotion to First Soloist is a huge achievement and well deserved! It seems like its over and out for Choe, then. Considering her age I dont think a promotion will be given to her anymore. A pity for us Choe fans, but at least she is properly cast in leading roles! Quick question: does anyone happen to know what happened to Rupert Pennefather? He left a few seasons ago and I havent heared anything from him since. Is he officially retired?

Thank you capybara I was aware of that! She also danced the Cat in Peter and the Wolf, that where I saw her first! She already seemed like a very mature dancer when she was still a student, I can't wait to see how she'll develop artistically now that she's in the company. Random correction, but I just noticed I wrote "Svetlana Lunkina" in my previous post..... I meant Anastasia Lunkina ofcourse, I got her name mixed up with the Bolshoi principal dancer there!

Thank you for your explanation Katharina! I had no idea there were several methods. I mostly watch French ballet and the French school seems to be mostly using one method, to "rise" on point by letting the movement roll through their foot instead of jumping on pointe straight away. The way that student did it looked very strange to me but I trust your knowledge on the Russian school! However, isn't it dangerous for a dancer to do that? It seems to me that going on pointe without any transition puts too much pressure on the ankle whereas doing a relevé first "prepares" the ankle to carry their body weight. That poor little girl looked like she could snap her ankle anytime....

I couldn't agree more!!! I love Lopatkina but I feel like every role she does is the same. I know she's sublime in Swan Lake (and she'll probably be remembered for it in 100 years time) and the way she dances it with slow, unfolding limbs work very well for that particular role, but not so much for others. However that doesnt stop her from doing it for some reason and for this I find her to be a very one dimensional dancer, more concerned with getting her lines right than trying to bring something new to the role... for example what is the difference between her Odette, her Giselle or her Raymonda??? She all dances them with the same approach. I also feel like this is an recurring trend at Vaganova/Mariinsky nowadays. The technival standard of Vaganova isn't the same as it used to be. Russian dancers have always been known for their brilliant technique, yes, even in the 40s and 50s. They had brilliant footwork, fast and neat, incredible jumps and jaw dropping lifts. I feel like most of this Soviet bravura is gone now, with the exception of some Bolshoi dancers (Maria Alexandrova comes to mind, she is a Bolshoi/Soviet dancer through and through, and eventhough she's tall she can dance with speed no problem). Especially at Vaganova they seem to be more concerned with the upperbody than anything else, and although its true that one of their main characteristics is the supple upperbody, they used to be more than just that... Vaganova was a visionary because she managed to combine the style of the imperial ballet (influenced mostly by the French and the Italians) with a new way of moving your back resulting in a brand new school that combined the best of both worlds. Dancers like Ulanova, Dudinskaya etc. all had brilliant footwork next to a supple upperbody. The current generation of Vaganova graduates do not have that. At all. Watching videos of students i'm completely amazed by their weak feet and ankles, some girls can barely hold theirselves on pointe but seem to be having no problem wacking their legs up to their ears. Ofcourse I realise I'm watching students who are still learning, but the decline of the technical standard is so apparent that I don't think it has anything to do with their age or inexperience. In this video for example there are three Russian students who are fully Vaganova trained and one foreign student (Alexandra Kearny, I think she's Australian?) who got part of her education elsewhere, and the difference is almost painful to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMBytoD7_q8 The Russian students all have wonderful lines and beautiful port de bras (as is expected), but are really struggling with their footwork, with shaky ankles and balances. Kearny on the other hand seems much more robust and gives a more solid impression. Its kind of embarrasing to see that a foreign student is technically stronger than the products of what is supposed to be the best ballet school in the world. And it's not like these students are the worst, either. One of them (Svetlana Lunkina) was the top graduate of her year. There are more videos of Vaganova students on youtube that you can watch, and I feel like in every year the footwork is below par. Some things they do are just plain wrong and you wouldnt see it even in the most obscure studio schools. In of the most recent uploads for example I saw a girl hopping straight on pointe rather than rising on point by doing a relevé first... She just hopped straight on pointe!!! Never have I ever seen such a thing... especially not at a school that is supposed to set the standard in the ballet world. And before I completely go off track, here's a list of dancers that ive been enjoying recently: Clairemarie Osta and Isabelle Guérin are my all time favourites, along with Nicolas Le Riche and Laurent Hilaire. Special mentions go to Platel, Moussin, Dupont, Pujol, Albisson, Ould-Braham and Renavand. Young, upcoming dancers that I enjoy are Letizia Galloni, Marion Barbeau, Jennifer Visocchi, Lydie Vareilhes and Ida Viikinkoski. Non-french dancers that I cant get enough of are Yoshida, Collier, Choe, Kaneko, Alexandrova, Krysanova and Nadezhda Batoeva (I'm sure there are others but these are fromt the top of my head). Also there is this young dancer at the Bolshoi named Ana Turazashvili who was COMPLETELY won over my heart, I have never been so in awe with a lower ranked dancer before! Fingers crossed she's going to get far in the company! Oh and now I'm talking about young dancers, there is a corps dancer at the Royal named Chisato Katsura that has caught my eye. She's a Royal ballet school graduate and joined this year. Has anyone noticed her too? She shows so much potential, but maybe its a bit too early to really say anything about it?? It is her first year as a professional dancer after all

A few comments on the suicide/death of Giselle: Giselle commits suicide in the original Gautier/Saint-George libretto, but it was Petipa himself who changed it first, since showing a suicide on stage during that time was out of the question. However Petipa still left a little trace of the original libretto by making Giselle grab the sword and try to stab herself - but he also made someone step in and take the sword away from her, so it would remain a mystery whether or not she died from her wounds or from something else. I have absolutely no idea where the dying of a broken heart/weak heart came from, but like Floss said, it was perpetuated most by the Soviet productions and a lot of other productions just took over that narrative. Knowing this it makes sense that Giselle was buried in the woods and not on church ground. Although I do wonder where the other Willis were buried - also in the woods? Or were they buried in a graveyard and then go to the woods when its nighttime??? To me it always looked like the Wilis emerged right out of the ground which means they must have done something sinful before they died to be buried there... According to wikipedia willis are ''the spirits of women who had been frivolous in their lifetimes and now floated between here and the afterlife"... make of that what you will!

I think when people say 'classic', they mean the big three act Petipa ballets like Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake etc., and not necessarily the age of the production. If we're going to see ballet that way, then none of the companies are performing classics since almost all of them were tinkered with over the years. If you compare these productions with the original Petipa ones that have been reconstructed so far, you can see that a lot has been cut or changed to fit the technical standards of the time (the famous fish dive lifts in the wedding pdd in the Sleeping Beauty werent in the original for example). This doesnt make the production any less classical imo, the foundation is still very much Petipa even if a new production was made decades later.

I was surprised to read he had so much restrictions too. But then it makes me wonder how Lefèvre lasted for so many years (two whole decades!)? She must have known how to work her ways around Garnier very, very well. It makes me respect her even more now. I might not always have agreed with her programming but she knew how to run a company!

Yes I did, but on tv (there was a rerun of it on a cultural channel in my country). It's definitely worth the watch, but more so for the exclusive footage of the dancers rehearsing than for Millepied. I wasnt impressed by his ballet but the dancers are all superb (especially Viikinkoski, Visocchi, Galloni and Barbeau - he has an eye for talent, i'll give him that). The documentary itself seems to be a continuation of what has been said about him in the press - young, ambitious new ad trying to bring some fresh air into a company supposedly stuck in the past. I wasnt too impressed by it. Also, if its true it was his intention to improve the dancers technique by dancing the classics more often, you dont see anything of it in the leaked new programme. First you complain about your dancers technique, then you fill your new season with contemporary and neoclassic works. Totally makes sense. I dont know if im looking too much into this, but Marie-Agnès Gillot posted a picture that said 'you are what you do, not what you say youll do' -a quote by Carl Jung- on her instagram the day Millepied stepped down. Thats quite telling...

Laura Capelle of the Financial Times reviews Bel/Millepied/Robbins: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a6a8b10a-ce5d-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377.html I didn't know whether to post it here or on the Bel/Millepied/Robbins thread, but Capelle made some comments about his departure too so I'm going to post it here. She's pretty harsh on him and the way he's exiting, basically saying he just gave up and left the company in a crisis of some sorts. Can't help but agree with her... Like Floss said, If you want to change one of the oldest cultural institutes in Europe you need to be tactful and diplomatic. I don't quite understand why Dupont's appointment is being presented as some backwards decision though. What's wrong with appointing someone from inside? At least they know how things work in the company and how to keep the French tradition alive. France has the richest ballet history in Europe, it should be celebrated, not thrown under the rug in favour of flashy new productions that have little to no connection to the dancers. Giselle was made for the Paris Opera, as well as La Sylphide... would we call those ballets old fashioned and stop performing them just because they were made over a hundred years ago? No ofcourse not! Both works remain one of the most popular ballets and are considered essential in any ballet company's reportoire. NYCB even got a new La Sylphide not long ago. And I absolutely hate how the American press is making it look like the Paris Opera is some old war horse in need of an overhaul. Do those people even know what they are talking about?! Contemporary work has been perfermormed there for AGES, Lefèvre made sure of that, Balanchine has been a part of the reportoire ever since he defected from Russia, Forsythe made his first work for a ballet company on Paris Opera dancers, it's the alma mater of Roland Petit, one of the most prolific and shocking choreographers of the 20th century... I could go on. Honestly, I blame that propaganda-esque documentary about Millepied for all of this. It made him look like he was some sort of visionary ready to set POB on the map, except the company has been on the map since it was first established by Louis XIV. They don't need an American to do that for them. I mean the school alone is older than the US....

Euan, if you want to see a Balanchine ballet danced like the way Balanchine intended, you should watch students of the School of American Ballet in Serenade: http://youtu.be/XbZjVGT1A3o This is a full recording of a school performance a few years ago. As far as I know, it's the only recent recording of Serenade on youtube. Although its danced by students, the dancing is of an excellent quality and follows the Balanchine style perfectly - when I first saw it I couldnt believe they were only students. I searched for reviews of this evening and came across an American forum where everyone seemed to agree that this interpretation was by far the best theyd ever seen, most claiming it was even better than how the adults danced it at NYCB. And if you want to see more of Balanchine's work, you should check out a youtube channel called 'Béla Schenker', he posts videos of full length Balanchine ballets as danced by NYCB from the 50's through the 80's. It's like a treasure chest full of vintage NYCB and a must watch for every balletomane if I have to be honest!

Oh I must have misunderstood his quote then, by saying 'nouvelle' I thought he meant a new production, not a new way of dancing. I still dont quite agree with his complaints about the hierarchy. Im all for giving young dancers a chance to develop themselves and prepare them for a higher rank, but it should never be in the expense of those who already earned their position as Étoile. Compare what he's saying with what Aurélie Dupont said in a recent interview: L'Opéra est hiérarchique, c'est comme ça. Ce n'ai pas moi qui l'ai choisi et je ne le changerai pas. C'est une compagnie hiérarchique. Pour être Étoile, c'est extrêmement difficile, ce sont des années de concours. Je veux remettre, pour le moment, les Danseurs et Danseuses Étoiles à l'honneur. Et bien évidemment, je veux continuer à faire danser de jeunes artistes, pas pour leur faire plaisir, mais pour les préparer à être Danseur et Danseuse Étoile. from here [http://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/pas-de-deux/41881-aurelie-dupont-je-suis-pleine-damour-pour-le-ballet-de-lopera-de-paris/] POB has a hierarchy that everybody must respect. It has been there for centuries and will be there for centuries to come. any attempt to change that will be futile. Instead, an AD must know how to work with it. POB is the only company in the world where promotions arent given by the AD but by winning the annual concours. Every étoile has been through this and have rightly earned their position at the top. For an AD to disregard their hard work in favour of his own vision is disrespectful to say the least. Instead, an AD must find a way to nurture the next generation while at the same time honouring his principals. This really isnt some radical way of thinking, almost all classical companies work like this.... Millepied should have known better when it comes to following the hierarchy of a company. On a sidenote, i accidently inserted the wrong link to Millepied's interview in my previous post, and i cant seem to edit it, so here is the right link: http://www.lefigaro.fr/theatre/2015/12/17/03003-20151217ARTFIG00225-benjamin-millepied-le-ballet-doit-sortir-de-sa-bulle.php

Thank you Janet! I have been checking up on this forum for a while now and I thought it was high time I contributed something myself too

I havent seen the documentary, but this is what he said: C’est quoi l’excellence de l’Opéra exactement ? Je ne suis pas encore satisfait de la façon dont ça danse en scène. L’excellence, j’attends de la voir pour de vrai… [...] la compagnie n’est pas la meilleure troupe classique mais la meilleure en danse contemporaine. [from here: http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2016/02/04/benjamin-millepied-va-t-il-quitter-l-opera-de-paris_4858949_3246.html] in an interview with Le Figaro he's saying something similar: En ce moment, à Garnier, dans le programme contemporain Wheeldon/McGregor/Bausch, ils sont fantastiques, d'une liberté totale. Mais, dans le classique, ça n'est pas ça. [from here: http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2016/02/04/benjamin-millepied-va-t-il-quitter-l-opera-de-paris_4858949_3246.html] Its not a secret that Millepied doesnt like classical ballet, and he also said something in the lines of how the dancers looked like wallpaper when they were dancing the big classics. He was thinking of staging new versions of the classics: Du coup, je vais en programmer énormément dès l'an prochain: j'ai envie de nouvelles Sylphides, d'une nouvelle Giselle, montées au plus près des artistes qui en détiennent encore le sens. He was also critical of the hierarchy in the company: La hiérarchie du Ballet, avec ses cinq grades, relève d'un ordre militaire archaïque, et induit une manière de parler aux danseurs «subalternes» que je n'accepte pas. Its probably comments like these that got him fired. The dancers did NOT like what he said at all, especially the part about how the quality of their dancing wasnt good enough. Étoile Karl Paquette said the atmosphere has been 'stormy' since the documentary came out in december. Sure an AD has every right to comment on the dancing of their dancers, but not in the way he did it by publicly announcing it to the press. Apparently the dancers didnt even knew how he was thinking of their dancing and found out by watching the documentary. In defence of the dancers, two of their best balletmasters left when Millepied arrived. Laurent Hilaire because he was forced to leave and Clotilde Vayer (his replacement) because of illness (apparently she has been absent for months). You cant possibly blame the dancers for this. Besides, it's not like POB was a purely classical company upon his arrival; Brigitte Lefèvre has introduced plenty of contemporary choreographers to the reportoire and was often accused of staging too many modern works (something that I agree with). Before they danced Swan Lake last season, they hadnt danced it in five years (the last time being during the 2010/2011 season) and they havent danced Giselle in almost six years (last time in the 2009/2010 season). Same goes for ballets like Raymonda (last time in 2008/2009), Romeo and Juliet (2010/2011) and the Nutcracker (before they danced it last season, the last time was in 2009/2010). Whereas the company used to dance these kind of works almost every other season under Nureyev, under Lefèvre the distribution has become erratic and it didn't do the dancer's technique any justice. Yes, right now POB isnt exactly going through an Golden Age like they did under Nureyev, but that has more to do with the work method of the AD than the dancers themselves. POB school continues to be one of the most excellent dance schools in the world and produces stellar graduates every year, but its not their fault if they end up getting cast in Kylian and Ek when they were trained to dance Petipa. Its sad that Millepied didnt realise this and blamed the dancers instead, and continues to stage contemporary and neoclassical works. Wheres the logic in that? It also seems like Millepied was threatening to radically change the very foundations of the company and I'm so glad Stéphane Lissner finally gave in and fired him. I agree with Sim, to Millepied it seemed like POB was some sort of personal project of his that he could do whatever he wanted with it. And I cannot understand how he could possibly be critical of the hierarchy. Is there any ballet company in the world that DOESN'T have a hierarchy? Isn't he the alumni of a hierarchical company himself (NYCB)????? This is very rich coming from someone who was a principal dancer for years. The hierarchy is the skeleton of every company, so to speak, it has been there since the very beginning and all the classics are made with that hierarchy in mind. How could he have possibly taken the job of ad of one of the biggest classical companies in the world when he doesnt even agree with the very foundations of the company? I remember when Millepied was appointed a few years back he accused POB of not being diverse enough (something that the French press did not take well) and Elisabeth Platel retaliated by saying something in the lines of 'the opéra is bigger than all of us'. Hopefully he has realised that now.