Who are the French-trained dancers now working in the US

[bart]

Cygneblanc started a thread recently devoted to two young French graduates from the POB school who are on their way to San Francisco Ballet's Trainee Program.

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...c=25578&hl=

At least one of them would like to come back in France next year but I really hope they can settle in the USA or somewhere else because of ballet's condition in France. it's really great SFB gave them a chance and I'm grateful to them for that. Not every POB's graduate has such a chance!

French training seems so good, and the French style still has unique and recognizable elements. It is sad that many young Frnech dancers must go outside their country to pursue a career in classical ballet. I thought it might be interesting if we could put together a list of French-trained dancers in companies we follow.

Helene has already mentioned the three currrent principals at San Francisco Ballet: Nicolas Blanc, Pascal Molat, and Pierre-Francois Vilanoba, and the recently retired Muriel Maffre. The SFB website does not tell us where their dancers were trained.

Down here, the current group is rather small, though Eric Quillere and Arnold Quintane were principals for a while with Miami:

Ballet Florida: Jean-Hugues Feray, Paris Conservatory. Feray is the best classicist in this mostly contemporary company. Before coming to the US he danced with the Marseilles Ballet under Pietragalla, and was her Siegfried in Swan Lake during a tour to China.

Miami City Ballet: Alexandre Dufaur. Trained at International Dance Center of Rosella Hightower and Paris Opera Ballet School.

Which French trained dancers working outside France do you get the chance to see? Where were they trained? Is there anything particularly "French" in what they bring to their performances?

[Hans]

Sebastien Marcovici of NYCB was trained in France. I haven't seen him dance in some time, though.

[bart]

Thanks, Hans. I guess I expected a rush of responses to this question. After doing a little superficial research on my own, however, I suspect that there are only a handful of French (and French-trained) dancers in American companies today. Certainly nothing like the number of those from the Spanish-speaking world, Brazil, and the former Soviet Union.

Here's a preliminary list of some companies, drawn from their websites.

ABT: Alexandre Hammoudi (corps)

NYCB: Principals Sebastien Marovicis, as Hans mentions (several schools) , Benjamin Millepied (Conservatoire National de Lyon), and Sofiane Sylve (Academie de Dance, Nice)

Boston: none

Houston: none

Philadelphia: none

Carolina: none

Joffrey: Fabrice Calmels, POB School

Pacific Northwest: "Jerome Tisserand (corps, several sschools, formerly a Miami apprentice); Liora Reshef, Apprentice

That doesn't exhaust the companies here, but it does raise a question: why so few? especially since the ballet schools in France (POB, Conservatoire de Paris, etc.) produce more classically trained dancers than there are jobs for).

Where do these graduates go?

How about ballet companies in other countries?

[Hans]

I would imagine that most of them go to various companies around Europe--it's closer to home and there's a greater likelihood that people will speak at least some French.

[cygneblanc]

Well, I'm going to think about your questions. Adeline Kaiser of SFB, although she's a graduate of ROB's school, actually trained there for only four years I believe. Before that, she was trained in her hometown (Grenoble, a small city in the French Alpes), was a one probationer at POB's school but was sent home after one year, and attended Marseille's school before going to ROB's school.

Liora Reschef was trained by Dominique Khalfouni in Paris at the Académie internationale de danse (Nicole Chirpaz).

Medhi Angot trained at POB's school. He dances with ENB.

Elsa Montguillot trained at POB's. She dances with Zurich's ballet.

Martin Arroyos trained at POB's school. He dances with Berlin's ballet.

Julie Martquet trained partly at POB's school. She dances with Stuttgart's ballet.

My former fellows who are abroad dance with

Caroline Duprot trained at Stanlowa's. She dances with ROB

Johanna Levy, trained at Stanlowa's, Lyon's Conservatory and Rudra dances in New York in a compagny called troikaranch.

Stephanie Gerbal trained at Stanlowa's and POB's school. She dances with Leipzig Ballet.

Hélène Bourbeillon trained at Stanlowa's. She dances with Geneva's Theater Ballet.

Here's a link to the parent's assocation of Paris' national conservatory. You can see where their graduate are dancing

http://danse.cnsmdp.free.fr/annuaire.htm

[volcanohunter]

Here are some French dancers working as principals or soloists in Germany (based on a superficial search, so I apologize for the dancers I've missed):

Staatsballett Berlin:

Gaela Pujol (soloist; Toulouse, POB School)

Corinne Verdiel (soloist; Lyon)

Bayerisches Staatsballett:

Cyril Pierre (principal; Nancy, POB School)

Severine Ferrolier (soloist; Centre de Danse Christiane Espitalier de La Valette)

Laure Bridel-Picq (soloist; Cannes)

Olivier Vercoutere (soloist, trained in Stuttgart)

Hamburg Ballet:

Helene Bouchet (principal; Cannes, Marseille)

Joelle Boulogne (principal; Cannes)

Catherine Dumont (soloist; Angers, Hamburg)

Yohan Stegli (soloist; Aix-en-Provence, Hamburg)

Sebastian Thill (soloist; POB School)

Dresden SemperOper Ballett:

Raphael Coumes-Marquet (principal; POB School)

Severine de Cussac (second soloist; POB School)

Fabien Voranger (second soloist; Royal Ballet School. Marseille, POB School)

Leipzig Ballet:

Jean-Sebastien Colan (principal; POB School)

Martin Chaix (soloist; POB School)

Remy Fichet (soloist; POB School)

Forsythe Company:

Cyril Baldy (Conservatoire National Superieur)

[printscess]

Marcelo Gomes spent a year at the POB school. Does that count?

[bart]

Thanks, volcanohunter, for that prodigious work. So far Germany does, indeed, seem to be in the lead. Proximity to France no doubt plays a role, as does EU membership (for work regulations and papers) and the share euro.

The Royal Ballet (UK), on the other hand, has only a few now that Sylvie Guillem has departed:

-- First Artist Caroline Duprot (POB, Institut du Paris)

-- First Artist Cindy Jourdain (POB, Royal Ballet School)

-- Artist Elsa Godard (Dominque Khafouni, Royal Ballet School

I don't know how young Jourdain and Godard where when they transferred to the Royal Ballet School.

Marcelo Gomes spent a year at the POB school. Does that count?

I suppose not, since he was already an well-trained when he went. In Gomes' case, wouldn't POB have been more of a finishing school? As a former Harid student, he could also claim to have "U.S." training.

[Helene]

Christophe Maraval just retired to teach in Montreal, but he has been popping up for a few post-retirement performances at special events, partnering Patricia Barker. According to the cached version of his PNB bio, "[h]e trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School and the Conservatoire Nationale Superieure de Paris."

[Paquita]

National Ballet of Canada-

Lise-Marie Jourdain trained at the POB school and was a corps member in the company

[volcanohunter]

I suppose it's not surprising that several French dancers work with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal:

Joelle Henry (principal; Conservatoire National Superieur)

Herve Courtain (principal; POB School)

Jeremy Galdeano (second soloist; Marseille)

Emilie Durville (corps; Marseille)

[cygneblanc]

Bart, Cindy Jourdain began at ROB's school when she was 16.

[cygneblanc]

Béjart Ballet Lausanne:

Emilie Delbée, Paris' regional conservatory

Baptiste Gahon, La Rochelle's conservatory, Rudra

Alexis Malovik: POB's school

Florence Leroux:Marseille's school

Denis Vasquez: several french conservatories and Rudra

Karine Marion: Annecy's conservatory

BRB

Sonia Aguilar: trained at Stanlowa's

Dutch National Ballet

Charlotte Chapellier: Paris' national Conservatory

Mathieur Gremillet: Marseille's school

Nicolas Rapaic: Academy international of Dance (Paris)

Veronique Tamaccio: Marseille's school

Claire Dumond: Paris'national Conservatory

[papeetepatrick]

[David Hallberg had] 'formal ballet training at 13 with Kee Juan Han at the Arizona Ballet School in Phoenix where he studied intensively for four years. In 1999, he was accepted into the Paris Opera Ballet School where he continued his studies under the direction of Claude Bessy, Jacques Namont and Gilbert Meyer."

This is from David Hallberg's ABT bio, I didn't see him mentioned in this thread. May be more like Marcelo Gomes as finishing school, but it doesn't say how long he worked there.

[volcanohunter]

[David Hallberg had] 'formal ballet training at 13 with Kee Juan Han at the Arizona Ballet School in Phoenix where he studied intensively for four years. In 1999, he was accepted into the Paris Opera Ballet School where he continued his studies under the direction of Claude Bessy, Jacques Namont and Gilbert Meyer."

This is from David Hallberg's ABT bio, I didn't see him mentioned in this thread. May be more like Marcelo Gomes as finishing school, but it doesn't say how long he worked there.

It was one year.

Feeling his training needed another dimension, Hallberg spent a year at the Paris Opéra Ballet School.

http://www.danceinternational.org/archive/spring2004.htm

[ViolinConcerto]

Formerly at New York City Ballet:

Alexandre Proia, now a freelance teacher and choreographer (I liked his early works)

Francois Perron, now the Managing Artistic Director of Studio Maestro, a very classically based school on Manhattan's Upper East Side.