Week 2 Begins!

"Paysage" by Chaim Soutine

Week two has officially begun, and it has definitely been off to a busy start! We started off this morning with a ballet class with Brooke Desnoes at the Academie Americaine de Danse de Paris. In some ways it was similar to last week’s ballet class, but Brooke incorporated more of the Balanchine style into her class. There was a lot more emphasis on the point and articulation of the feet, and she concentrated more on our epaulement than Cristalle did last week. She also focused on how we used our turnout…I have a feeling my rotators are going to be very sore in the morning! After class, we had a brief discussion with Brooke about the differences in the training philosophy between France and the United States and how her school tries to bridge that gap. For example, we were all shocked to hear that cross-training doesn’t really exist here in France! The ballet schools are very strict and codified, so she wanted to open a school that offered an alternative to that style of training. One of the things that stood out the most to me was her belief that one of the most important things to teach young students is to love dancing!

After a quick break, we had a lecture on Impressionism and then hopped on the metro for our trip to the Musee de l’Orangerie. I really enjoyed this museum – it is much smaller than a lot of the others, so I felt like I was able to spend more time studying and absorbing the material. We saw Monet’s famous water lily paintings and then explored the exhibits downstairs. I was drawn to Chaime Soutine’s work, which was full of bright, vibrant colors and curved lines. The first word that came to mind when I looked at his paintings was distortion. To me, it looked like he took an image and twisted it on itself to create a very anti-realist painting.

After exploring for a bit, we all gathered outside for a discussion about what we saw in the museum. It was so interesting to hear what everyone else thought about the work and what aspects stood out the most to them. For example, we talked about the texture of the paintings, the process of creating the work, how certain artists’ work evolved over time, and the sense of movement that some of the pieces had. Once we wrapped up our discussion, we were free for the evening so Gianna and I headed back down the Champs Elysees to finish exploring some of the shops we didn’t have time for on our first trip. I have to say, I’ve never been a big clothes person, but I could easily come home with a brand new wardrobe! As we wandered down, we also happened to pass a few street performers break-dancing!

Now I’m finally back at the FIAP for the evening. I’ll probably spend some time on my computer figuring out my schedule…there are a lot of exciting events and performances going on in the next few weeks and I want to make it to as many as possible! But it looks like tomorrow is going to be another busy day, so I’m going to finish up some work and rest up for our early morning! Bonne nuit!