Posted 26 December 2006 - 07:19 AM
As promised here (a bit latter, sorry) are my thoughts on this year competition
Women
Quadrille level
Compulsory: Swan lake, act I, first variation of the Pas de Rois
Result
1.Ludmila Pagliero, Promoted, Notre Dame de Paris, Act 1, Esmeralda’s variation ;
2.DaphnéGestin, Promoted, Suite en blanc, Flute’s variation
3.Eleonore Guérineau, Suite en blanc, Serenade’s variation
Aubane Philbert, Four seasons, Spring’s variation
5. Pauline Verdusen Four seasons, Spring’s variation
6. Leila Dilhac Suite en blanc, Flute’s variation
A very strange result for me and a major part of the audience. It reminds me figure skating so much ! I wonder what message the direction wants to send to POB school’s graduates and to school pupils. Miss Pagliero is a good dancer but to my mind she doesn’t deserve this promotion. She showed a very nice Esmeralda but her compulsory wasn’t that strong and some others were better overall.
The two best dancers of the event were also the very youngest, barely 18 years old.
Eleonore Guerineau was fabulous and was clearly the of leader of the field. She’s an excellent technician, has a lot of style and was flawess in a very difficult variation.
Aubane Philbert’s choice was very appropriate for a young dancer full of freshness. She did well on the technical side, and was a joy to watch. She may sometimes need to be less affected, but it is just a minor flaw.
Overall, the level of that class was rather homogeneous, and we saw a lot of very nice things, including Daphné Gestin’s Flute or Emilie Hasboun’s Gamzatti.
Coryphée level
Compulsory : Paquita, 2nd variation of the Grand Pas
Result
1.Sarah Kora Dayanova promoted Les Mirages, Shade’s variation
2. Marie-Solène Boulet, promoted, Carmen
3. Laurène Levy, Four seasons, Spring’s variation
4. Sabrina Mallem Delibe’s Suite
5. Charline Giezendanner Jewels, Emerald, first variation
6. Lucie Clément The Bayadere, Act II, Nikya’s variation
The results are rather in accordance with what was seen on stage. Kora Danyanova was a somptuous omber and her compulsory was strong. She was indisputably the best.
Then, the results were closer. Marie-Solène Boulet was a spicy Carmen and her compulsory was good. Then both Laurène Levy and Charline Giezendanner, each in their own style were very beautiful but their compulsories were far from being perfect. But they could have been fished out because of their free variation.
Men
Quadrille level
Compulsory: Don Quixote, Act I, Basilio’s second variation
Result
1.Axel Ibot Promoted, Suite en Blanc’s Mazurka
2. Daniel Stokes Promoted Romeo and Juliet, Act one, Romeo’s first variation
3. Marc Moreau Etude’s Mazurka
4. Cyril Chockroun Manon’s, Avt I, Des Grieux’ variation
5.Fabien Révillon The Bayadere, act II, Solor’s variation
6. Grégory Dominiak Carmen’s, Don Jose variation
The winner was clearly the leader of his level. He was the only one with a flawess compulsory and showed a great musicality and a great elegance during his free variation.
The results were very close between the second and third place. Daniel Stocke sense of drama probably made a small difference in his favor.
Coryphée level
Compulsory Swan Lake, Act I, Siegfried’s slow variation
Result
1. Mathias Heymann, Promoted, Don Quixote, Act I, Basilio’s first variation
2. Audric Bezard Promoted Appartment, TV sequence
3. Sébastien Bertaud Carmen’s, Don Jose variation
4. Grégory Gaillard Themes and Variations
5. Aurélien Houette Pas/ Parts
6.Vincent Chaillet Our Lady of Paris, Act I, Frollo’s variation
Mathias Heymann, only 19 years old, was ahead of everyone without discussions. He reminds me of his fellow Mathieu Ganio. What an elegance, what a technician, and overall what an artist! You’ll hear about him soon!
Audric Bezard’s choice is a bit unusual for someone who hopes to get promoted (I mean that usually dancers with such choices are rather older dancers who compete only for their pleasure and to dance something they really want to dance), but this time it paid. He was very convincing in his free variation but his compulsory was weaker, and overall, I thought Sebastien Bertaud was better because since these two dancers are quite close, and Mr. Bertaud’s compulsory was a bit better.
Sujet level
Compulsory: The lady of the Camelias, act II, Armand Duval’s variation
1.Christophe Duquenne, promoted, Other’s dances, first variation
2. Stéphane Bullion, Speaking in tongues
3. Nicolas Paul Approximate Sonata
4. Florian Magnenet, Suite en Blanc’s Mazurka
5. Bruno Bouché, A suite of dances, 2nd variation
6.Simone Valastro, Dance at a gathering, first variation of the dancer wearing brown.
Finally, Christophe Duquenne was rewarded and is the clear winner ! He could show all of his acting skills in his compulsory which was better than his free (still very good by the way). And then, I don’t know what really to say. The overall level was very homogeneous, a lot of contemporary choices. Nobody was bad but nobody was really good. The results may looked strange, as I think Julien Meyzindi deserved to be ranked. And it was still nice to see Gil Isoard compete, although the wasn’t in his best shape!
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