I have officially finished my first week of class in Paris! It has been a whirlwind couple of days and I can’t believe how many fantastic things I have experienced in just a few days. Today we made our third trip to the Palais Garnier for a once in a lifetime experience. We got to tour the costume shop, go backstage, see the ancient machinery under the stage, and meet with members of the publications and administration departments. Most of these areas aren’t open to the public so I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to see it all! It was amazing to hear what an integral part dance plays in the French culture! The arts receive a significant amount of government funding and there seems to be a great emphasis on preserving the ballet traditions. When remaking costumes, the costumers stay true to the original style and the choreographer’s vision. Even the programs designed for each ballet are meant to educate the audience – they include the ballet’s history and much more valuable information, rather than just a lot of advertisements like we often see in American playbills. I was also thrilled to hear a member of the costume department discuss the mutual respect present throughout the organization. He said that the dancers are very humble and respectful of the costumers, and the costumers enjoy watching the new generations of dancers mature from students at the Paris Opera Ballet School into professional dancers in the company. It seems that the dancers here are truly passionate about their craft and are dedicated to performing beautifully and keeping ballet alive for European audiences. This is very inspiring for me and I am definitely feeling motivated to keep striving and working harder to improve as a dancer!

After our full day in the Opera House, we were free for the evening! Shiloh, Gianna, and I took some time just to wander around and explore the area surrounding the Opera House. We found an adorable candy shop and tried a brand new food…Chocolate Olives! We were all a little nervous, but since we were feeling adventurous, we gave it a shot. Luckily there are no actually olives in the candy; they are just shaped that way! They were delicious and there were actually almonds inside the candy. Then we just did some window shopping in a few other unique French stores and then headed back to the FIAP! Now I’m just getting ready to settle down for the weekend!