A Weekend in Merry Old England!

I just got back “home” to the FIAP after a fantastic weekend with my family in London. However, before I get into that, I want to catch up on a few highlights from the end of the week in Paris! “Romeo and Juliet” at the Opera Bastille was absolutely amazing – the dancing, the set design, the staging, and the costumes were all wonderful! I also really enjoyed our trip to the Musee D’Orsay and our walking tour of the Montmartre area. I definitely want to make it back over before I leave…there was so much more I wanted to see, but we ran out of time! Then on Thursday night, I met up with my family for an amazing dinner at Le Procope. In true French style, the meal took two and a half hours! It was certainly worth it though (especially dessert!) The next morning, we started off at the Louvre. I could have spent days there, and I still don’t think I would have seen everything! We spent a lot of time looking at the Italian paintings, and then explored some of the ancient Egyptian work. 

 Later that afternoon, we hopped on a train and rode out to London! Our adventures there began with a performance of “Les Miserables” at the Queen’s Theater! The show was overwhelming! I have always loved this musical (especially after being a part of a production of it in high school) and it was such a treat to get to see it live! It is such a powerful story and the music is beautiful! Afterwards, we went to a small café for tea and desserts! I must say, as a tea lover, I feel very at home in England! Hot tea is available everywhere and it’s so much more prevalent than coffee (unlike back in the States!) I love it!

 Saturday morning began with a tour of Parliament. Our tour guide was incredibly informative, and quite funny as well. The building itself was exquisite and I learned a lot about England’s government procedures, as well as its history and traditions. Then we got on another train for my favorite part of the weekend…The Making of Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour! I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so this was a real treat for me! We got to see a ton of the sets, costumes, and props used in the movies, as well as sketches, renderings, and models from the production. I got to stand on the Knight Bus, steer the flying car, visit Honeydukes Sweet Shop, and finally taste Butterbeer! I could probably talk about this tour all day, but for the sake of time I’ll move on!

This morning, we woke up and took the Underground down to the Tower of London! This was another fascinating tour, full of hundreds of years of history! We also got to see the Crown Jewels, which were unbelievable! I have to say, the crowns are REALLY large…I can’t imagine wearing one on my head! The jewels and diamonds were absolutely stunning though!

After our visit, it was time for me to head back to Paris! I was sad to leave the family of course, but I’m looking forward to another exciting week here in France! Plus, it is much warmer and much sunnier here! I guess I should probably head off and start preparing for class in the morning though! Week 3, here we come!

This is going to be a quick one, but I must say that it has been another fantastic day in Paris! We started off with a wonderful lecture with art history professor Christopher Bioces at his gallery in the Bastille area. He discussed Edgar Degas’ paintings and gave me a brand new perspective that fostered a much greater appreciation for his work. I never realized how much depth there is to his paintings – they comment on the work, dedication, and routine of dancers lives’ (rather than just the magic of performance); they detail the technique and movement of human bodies; and they develop a specific feminine presence and comment on the sexual politics of the time. Christopher also discussed the Moulin Rouge and how it presented alternative forms of entertainment with dances such as the can-can. Overall, it was an amazing lecture (plus, he offered us coffee, tea, and cookies!) I am so glad that he will be accompanying us to the Musee d’Orsay to give us a guided tour. I think it will give me a deeper understanding of what I’m seeing and help me appreciate the artwork more!

Later, we had yet another fabulous ballet class with Jenny, a former dancer with the Joffrey ballet. I loved her focus on movement rather than positions, and was impressed with her musicality! She was very clear about accents, suspensions, and tempos, which seemed to make our dancing much more dynamic!

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow! We will be visiting the Musee D’Orsay, taking a contemporary class with Peter Goss, and finishing up with the Paris Opera Ballet’s performance of Romeo and Juliet! My family will also be flying in tomorrow morning, so I’ll get to spend some time with them! It all sounds wonderful to me!

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!

I can’t believe I have been in Paris for a full week! Today was a much more relaxed day…I finally got to sleep in a little bit! Around 11:00, a group of us took the train down to Giverny to visit Monet’s Maison and Gardens. It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! The sun was shining, the flowers smelled amazing, and all of the colors were just exquisite! I would have loved to pull out a blanket and just lay there for hours soaking it all in! It made me wish I could grow my own garden! The house was wonderful too, and I really enjoyed seeing a lot of Monet’s paintings. It was interesting to look at all of the artwork and then get to see some of the sites that actually inspired them, like the lily pad pond! After this little excursion, I am really eager to learn more about the impressionists this week! I feel like I know some of the basic information about the artists and the time period, but it’s definitely something I am interested in learning more about! It’s amazing how many things I’ve seen these past few days that have inspired me to look into some further research. This city is just so rich culturally, historically, and artistically! I’m looking forward to tomorrow as well (I think I have said that every single day!) We’re planning on finding some street markets in the morning to do a little bit of shopping and then seeing where we go from there!  

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!  

The past two days have been incredible! They have definitely been busy though and I’m sure I will sleep really well tonight! I cannot even begin to describe what it was like to sit in the Palais Garnier last night and watch the Paris Opera Ballet perform! I was awestruck by the theater itself and I thoroughly enjoyed the ballet. Going into the performance, I did not know much about “Manon,” so it was definitely exciting to see something new! Kenneth MacMillan’s contemporary partnering choreography was fantastic. It definitely got me excited for this morning’s ballet class. The class was wonderful; I didn’t feel like I danced very well, which was a little disappointing, but I did gain a lot of valuable information from it. It was a challenge for me because some of the teacher’s stylistic preferences were different from what I’ve been practicing at school over the past few years, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to work on my versatility. We got a lot of beneficial corrections and I really appreciated that she took the time to give us some individual feedback and hands-on corrections. After class, we got back on the metro and made our way down to Versailles. This is going to be so hard to describe… when we arrived, I was absolutely speechless! I had very high expectations walking in, but I was still completely blown away! There was the physical appeal of the gorgeous architecture and artwork, as well as the excitement of standing on ground that is so rich in culture and history! I tried to resist the gift shop, but I was so fascinated with all of the history and artwork that I had to buy one of the books. It will make some great reading for the rest of the trip! After exploring the Chateau, we moved into the gardens. I was so glad that we did not have to try to stay together as a group. Instead we were all free to move at our own pace and explore whatever we wanted. I just took my time wandering through and admiring the fantastic designs of both the plants and sculptures. We were very lucky – it was a beautiful day and I wish I could have spent even more time just sitting there and soaking it all in! But now we are all back at the FIAP and feeling pretty exhausted from our first week! I’ll probably head in pretty early tonight so I can get ready for our backstage tour of the Palais Garnier in the morning! Au revoir!