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A look at the top of the Tree


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As one by one the current Etoile's reach the end of their career and retire the questions arise who is left behind to hold the fort. What's more it was currently stated in Dance Europe latest edition, concerning the ladies, that there are currently three Etoile's on Maternity leave.(Dorothee Gilbert, Marie Agnes Gillot and Myriam Ould Braham. With the recent departure of the retiring Etoiles, the number of principles is drastically reduced. And will this give a chance to some Premier Dancers to step up to fill the missing places. I hope so, as it is unfair to put the burden of too many performances on a small number of Etoiles such as Ludmila Pagliero and Karl Pacquet during the current season..

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Yes, it's a shame we'll see so many retirements this season. I'm not sure how the company is allowed to continue forcing out its dancers, chorus, and bizarrely their technicians (at 55), when the EU's equality Directive and France's own discrimination laws make these non-national mandatory retirement ages difficult to uphold in court. I guess it will take a dancer to file before the legalities are questioned.


As for dancers on maternity leave, Dorothee Gilbert appears to have gone on a year's sabbatical instead. I would hazard a guess and say Gilbert also wants to avoid another year with Brigitte Lefevre, who barely cast her last season.


Amandine Albisson, Heloise Bourden, and Laura Hecquet, three dancers the brilliant Laurent Hilaire has extensively supported over the years, look set to continue being given lead roles. The same with Alice Renavand and Vincent Chaillet, who are the two most likely to receive a promotion to etoile before Brigitte Lefevre's retirement.


Most surprising so far this season are Audric Bezard and Aurelia Bellet receiving Desire and Aurora. They're two of the most promising POB dancers yet are sadly either routinely undercast, or given roles which they've both outgrown. Again, two of Hilaire's. There are no other surprises, somewhat predictably. Brigitte Lefevre takes a heirarchy-within-the-heirarchy approach so others don't get a chance.


The question is, who will be cast when the injuries hit? The company employs one physiotherapist and has no other form of on-site health team I'm aware of. Unless the POB starts preparing their dancers better for transitioning from the contemporary rep to classical ballet, then we can guarantee a repeat of La Sylphide and Don Quixote. In that case Francoise Alu would likely be given a chance (as he was for Don Quixote), and he looks set to become a premier dansuer this year anyway, although that will depend on his ability to cut down on the leaps and turns. They've -- perhaps the wrong word -- rigged the concours and given sujets the same set Albrecht variation they gave the petit rats who auditioned to join the company this year.
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tomorrow, Do you know for a fact Gilbert is on sabbatical and not maternity leave, or are you just inferring that from her schedule? Her baby is due in March, an inconvenient due date for the ballet season, and she hasn't performed anywhere since June when she found out about the pregnancy during the Sylphide run.

I think the trophy for carrying Beauty (at least until the run actually starts!) should go to Ould-Braham, who has 5 Auroras (same as Abbagnato - Pagliero has 6), but it also doing Florine. It's a pity Parc and Beauty are running at the same time because several of the etoiles are suited to both (Dupont, for example), but not surprisingly only want to dance one.

It is interesting that Hecquet, Bellet, Albisson and and Bourdon - sujets all - are cast as Aurora, but not a single premiere is.

The Concours this year should be interesting. There are only 2 posts for premiere danseuse, despite all the retirements, and quite a few deserving ladies.

I suppose the fact that these departures coincide with Lefebre's departure means Millepied will be able to name a lot of etoiles and shape the top echelon to his liking more quickly than he might have been otherwise.

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The question is, who will be cast when the injuries hit? The company employs one physiotherapist and has no other form of on-site health team I'm aware of. Unless the POB starts preparing their dancers better for transitioning from the contemporary rep to classical ballet, then we can guarantee a repeat of La Sylphide and Don Quixote.

It is really bad practice that the POB have only one physiotherapist, to look after such a large number of dancers, I know the Royal Ballet has more than this, and use Osteopaths who are much better in sorting out injuries. So it seems the injured people have to relie on their own doctors and make their own decisions as to when hospital visits may be needed. Not a satisfactory situation at all.

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tomorrow, Do you know for a fact Gilbert is on sabbatical and not maternity leave, or are you just inferring that from her schedule? Her baby is due in March, an inconvenient due date for the ballet season, and she hasn't performed anywhere since June when she found out about the pregnancy during the Sylphide run.

No I'm going by what I heard but I'll retract my comment and assume it's down to her due date then. Makes more sense.

It is really bad practice that the POB have only one physiotherapist, to look after such a large number of dancers, I know the Royal Ballet has more than this, and use Osteopaths who are much better in sorting out injuries. So it seems the injured people have to relie on their own doctors and make their own decisions as to when hospital visits may be needed. Not a satisfactory situation at all.

Yes, thought it was poor practise myself - according to their website they also employ an osteopath as well though. Mathias Heymann mentions having to travel to see somebody here. It's bad given their budget - and with the cuts the company is facing, it should make Benjamin Millepied's plans for a Parisian version of the New York Choreographic Institute a low priority.

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tomorrow, Do you know for a fact Gilbert is on sabbatical and not maternity leave, or are you just inferring that from her schedule? Her baby is due in March, an inconvenient due date for the ballet season, and she hasn't performed anywhere since June when she found out about the pregnancy during the Sylphide run.

No I'm going by what I heard but I'll retract my comment and assume it's down to her due date then. Makes more sense.

It is really bad practice that the POB have only one physiotherapist, to look after such a large number of dancers, I know the Royal Ballet has more than this, and use Osteopaths who are much better in sorting out injuries. So it seems the injured people have to relie on their own doctors and make their own decisions as to when hospital visits may be needed. Not a satisfactory situation at all.

Yes, thought it was poor practise myself - according to their website they also employ an osteopath as well though. Mathias Heymann mentions having to travel to see somebody here. It's bad given their budget - and with the cuts the company is facing, it should make Benjamin Millepied's plans for a Parisian version of the New York Choreographic Institute a low priority.

So there are only two people looking after their physical heath, that is really diabolical. there should be special facilities with a reasonable number of experienced staff members to keep them in good shape so they do not have to relie on general outside units.After all the treatment needed is specialized. Considering the help they get with their hair, makeup and costume changes you would think more attention would be given to such an important feature of protecting their bodies from injury.

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