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POB Annual Competition Results 2009


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Ludmila Pagliero is from Argentina and was a soloist at the National ballet of Chile before entering POB in 2003 I think, at the first level like any other dancer.

She raised quite quickly in the ranks though, due to her strong technical background but still, as she has only been a Sujet for one year, she hasn’t got yet so much soloist roles in Paris so it’s really difficult to tell how she will develop but she shows some nice promises.

When she danced the main role in Les enfants du Paradis last year, I thought she was really excellent as an actress too. As she is strong technically she could invest in the interpretation which was important in this ballet. However, she has been mainly seen in contemporary repertoire where she is really stunning with a lot of musicality. I think she has done most of the contemporary ballets the past years... but she’s very strong and secure technically, so perhaps we will see her next in more classical parts?

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Ludmila Pagliero is from Argentina and was a soloist at the National ballet of Chile before entering POB in 2003 I think, at the first level like any other dancer.

She raised quite quickly in the ranks though, due to her strong technical background but still, as she has only been a Sujet for one year, she hasn’t got yet so much soloist roles in Paris so it’s really difficult to tell how she will develop but she shows some nice promises.

When she danced the main role in Les enfants du Paradis last year, I thought she was really excellent as an actress too. As she is strong technically she could invest in the interpretation which was important in this ballet. However, she has been mainly seen in contemporary repertoire where she is really stunning with a lot of musicality. I think she has done most of the contemporary ballets the past years... but she’s very strong and secure technically, so perhaps we will see her next in more classical parts?

I don't recall of any recent foreign-born dancer who has risen so fast in POB. I remember her winning a silver medal in NYIBC a few years ago. If she is promoted to Etoile-status, she would be the ist foreigner to be promoted, i think. The Parisian fans do not seem to be thrilled with this possibility.

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I don't recall of any recent foreign-born dancer who has risen so fast in POB.

Première danseuse Eleonora Abbagnato (Italian) was promoted to première danseuse very quickly

(in 2001, aged 23, in a period when there were far fewer available positions of première danseuse than now), and at some time she was expected to be promoted to étoile, but since then it seems

that the POB direction is less interested in her, and I have no idea if she will be promoted to étoile someday (she's 31, which used to be considered a bit "old" to be promoted to étoile, but with the recent "late" promotions of Delphine Moussin at 36 and Isabelle Ciaravola at 37, who knows...) She took a one-year leave one season ago.

I remember her winning a silver medal in NYIBC a few years ago. If she is promoted to Etoile-status, she would be the ist foreigner to be promoted, i think. The Parisian fans do not seem to be thrilled with this possibility.

I don't think that the fans reactions is related to the fact that she is a foreigner. There have been indeed several foreign principals: at least José Martinez (Spanish, promoted in 1997), Peter Van Dijk (German, promoted in 1955), Marjorie Tallchief (American, promoted in 1955)... I think that Serge Peretti was Italian (he was born in Venice), but maybe he had both citizenships.

The criticisms I've read were about her dancing, not her citizenship.

cinnamonswirl: besides Abbagnato (Italian), Carbone (Italian), Martinez (Spanish), and Pagliero, there also is Simon Valastro (Italian, sujet), Miho Fujii (Japanese, quadrille), Sophie Parcen (Hungarian, quadrille) and Francesco Vantaggio (Italian, quadrille). However, since they have been living in France for quite a lot of time, maybe some of them now have both citizenships, or have switched to French citizenship, I don't know...

And until recently, there was Kim Young Geol (Korean, sujet), and but I think he left the company recently.

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As far as I'm concerned, I think that it's not so easy. I think the people who disagree with her promotion have in mind not only that she is a foreigner but that she has studied abroad... and also because a couple of dancers are expected for some years to be promoted and have not. It's also a lot in comparison with those dancers.

I think Yannick Bittencourt is from Switzerland and he suffered the same kind of criticisms when he has been promoted.

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cygneblanc, will you attend the men's competition today ?

I'm looking forward to your reaction (and also to your comments about the women's competition).

silvermash: indeed, the fact that she didn't study at the POB school might cause some of the criticism (but that's a whole different matter than citizenship... and for example, there are some étoiles like Emilie Cozette or Jérémie Bélingard who are French and former POB students and whose promotion was much criticized...)

One thing which makes me feel really sad is the fact that sujet Fanny Fiat left the company this year. I don't even know if she will continue dancing... :thumbsup: I hadn't seen her that often, but had always loved her performances. Unfortunately, she didn't seem very appreciated by the company's direction.

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well I think it's part of the French identity to be highly critical and voiced it... which is not that bad in a way.

A lot of Etoiles have been critized when they have been chosen with more or less strength and not only the ones you mentioned. Laëtitia Pujol, Delphine Moussin, Wilfried Romoli, Hervé Moreau, Benjamin Pech... Art is always subject to taste... but the level of violence here is far above some preference... I'm sceptical...

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Hey Estelle, the lack of time is killing me right now, but I'll try to write a review of the women's competition this week-end.

And, no, I won't attend men's, just too much work to be two days away in a very short time!

I don't have enough hard words to criticize Ludmilla Pagliero's promotion. The problem isn't the fact she's a foreigner, I wouln't have had any problems with Kora Dayanova's promotion.

She just doesn't have POB's style and her dance is boring. And there are some many beautiful sujets to promote...

On the other side, I was particularly happy for Aubane Philbert who truly deserves what she got this year. I have also been delighted by two others promotions to the sujets ranks. Well done, Ladies!

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Well Ludmila Pagliero has something special so perhaps as you said it’s not typically POB style but that’s why it’s interesting to have her Première danseuse instead of corps the ballet where you have to be like any other… I think she can bring a different touch to the company and I quite like what I have already seen in the contemporary rep where she is really excellent. This doesn't mean the other Sujets didn't deserve as well the title. She was not my favourite but I'm not disappointed...

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Hey Estelle, the lack of time is killing me right now, but I'll try to write a review of the women's competition this week-end.

And, no, I won't attend men's, just too much work to be two days away in a very short time!

Thanks for your comments, cygneblanc (and good luck for your work !)

Are there some male dancers whom you'd like to see promoted ?

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I just received a release from the company with the results of the men's competition:

To premier danseur:

Josua Hoffalt

Vincent Chaillet (both 25 years old)

To Sujet

Monsieur Florimond LORIEUX (22 ans)

Monsieur Fabien RÉVILLON (23 ans)

To Coryphée -

Monsieur Yann CHAILLOUX (25 ans)

Monsieur Adrien COUVEZ (28 ans)

Monsieur Mickaël LAFON (21 ans)

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Thanks for the results, Leigh !

I haven't seen Josua Hoffalt in a long while, but have good memories of his performances.

(Err, didn't he post in the forum many years ago, when a he was a POB student ?)

It seems that almost all the men who were promoted this year are fairly young.

If I remember correctly, Mickael Lafon was featured in a documentary about the POB school about ten years ago...

cygneblanc, silvermash, what do you think of those promotions ? Do you think the new premiers danseurs could be considered as potential étoiles ? They are quite younger than the present premiers danseurs (who are approximately: 29 (Bullion and Carbone), 32 (Paquette), 34 (Thibault), 37 (Duquenne), and 38 (Phavorin and Bridard)).

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Josua Hoffalt is an elegant and promising dancer (nice elevation and ballon), I think he was the favourite by far. He has already got some soloist roles in “youth ballets” such as Nutcracker and La fille mal gardée and he was up to the expectations. He’s got a strong stage presence. As far as I’m concerned I liked his Colas the best in the last run. He’s good also in the contemporary rep.

Vincent Chaillet is less known but has danced regularly interesting small soloist roles mostly in contemporary ballet until Répliques this season where he leads the second cast with Emilie Cozette. I quite liked his Lacenaire in Les Enfants du Paradis and he was beautiful as the Phenix Bird in Bejart’s Firebird. His elegant lines (he’s quite tall and thin) are always striking. He danced one of the Figures in Caligula and I remember noticing him as very good there, as well as one of Manon’s lovers in La Dame aux camellias…

They are both young so they will have time to develop and take their place among the other Premiers Danseurs… What is interesting right now is that there are few active male Etoiles and that Premiers Danseurs are entitled to dance a lot in the main roles, more or less trusted by the leading triplet Bullion/Duquenne/Paquette...

As for to become an Etoile? Well who knows what is an Etoile made of nowadays?

Surprisingly, there were few candidates for these two important positions (while there was no position last year). Some were injured but others are currently on stage?

Some surprises in the Coryphées class but all the first 6 dancers are good in their own domain, it’s the rule of the concours to rank them… and I wasn’t there so can’t really say more.

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