A Review of: Étoiles, Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet (Thursday, may 16, 2013)

           

            Today I watched the documentary, Étoiles: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet. I didn’t realize beforehand that the entire documentary was in French (thankfully with English subtitles), but I guess it was good practice for me since I have taken French as my foreign language of study in high school.

            I didn’t take as detailed notes while watching this documentary because it wasn’t very information-driven. It didn’t really offer any history of the Paris Opera Ballet. It briefly discussed the ranks of the dancers, four categories by competition: Quadrille, Coryphé, Sujet, and Premier Danseur. The status of “Étoile” (which means “star” in French) is not really an actual level; it is more like an honor given to some of the best dancers (only a couple) by the head of the opera, by the artistic director’s suggestion. It also briefly detailed the company’s school, Nanterre, which instructs 150 students from ages eight to eighteen, divided into six levels. Only the best dancers continue to advance through every level.

             Other than those two areas of discussion, the documentary basically showed what was happening with the company during the span of a week. It was nice because none of the other documentaries I have watched have been that honest in the portrayal of the difficulties of being a dancer. This documentary didn’t ‘tell’ the audience like the others did; instead, it ‘showed’ the difficulties and physical demands of the job.

            I enjoyed this documentary and appreciated its honesty. It was not as captivating as Ballerina, the Russian documentary that followed the careers of five ballerinas, because it didn’t have as much of a personal touch; it didn’t make a connection with specific individuals. It was definitely not as captivating as my personal favorite, Ballet Russes, for the same reasons; Ballet Russes was especially touching because of the apparent love and effort that went into its creation.

            I enjoyed Étoiles: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, but it is not a documentary I would be interested in watching twice. I recommend this film if you are interested in the Paris Opera Ballet and want to see some of the grueling difficulties of being a professional dancer.