Today was an absolutely wonderful day, and not only because it warmed up and finally got sunny again! It started off with a ballet class with Wayne Byars at Studio Harmonique, and it was definitely my favorite class I’ve taken so far! It was also the first one taught entirely in French! The atmosphere of the class was wonderful. There was certainly a wide range of dancers – including a few professionals who were incredibly inspiring to watch. Plus, Wayne is very positive and very enthusiastic about the class, and he gives great feedback and corrections! I really hope I get to take his class again before I leave! Some of our group took a contemporary class at the same studio though, and they seemed to love their class as well…too much to do and not enough time!

After class, I spent the afternoon wandering around the area. I managed to get myself lost and turned around a few times, but I found some fun things on the way! I finally did make it to Victor Hugo’s house though, which was a wonderful treat after seeing “Les Miserables” in London last weekend! Now I’m inspired to read the book as well!

Victor Hugo's writing desk

  Around 5:30, we all reconvened for our visit to the Centre Pompidou, which houses a collection of modern and contemporary art! The architecture itself is amazing…it certainly has a different aesthetic than all of the other museums we have been to. I don’t even know if I can really describe it, so I guess I’ll just put in a picture…

On our way up the many escalators, we got a wonderful view of the city before delving into the artwork.  Throughout the museum, I found a ton of pieces that I was drawn to. Unfortunately my note-taking was cut short when my pen died, but at least I was able to capture a few with my camera so I can look back at them later. One of my favorites was “THEVERYMANY” by Marc Fornes, which “investigates the transformation of surface into structure and structure into surface.” Its creation was innovative in that it was designed using some kind of software program. I didn’t really get all of the details, but I enjoyed seeing all of the printouts and images that were made during the process. 

After spending a good amount of time exploring all of the artwork, I finished up my day with a good old French dinner – a chicken and cheese crepe with a bottle of Orangina – outside of the museum. Now I think it’s time for my evening cup of tea! A bientot!

Week 3 Begins

Well, I take back what I said yesterday about the weather being warmer and sunnier here in Paris…today was definitely cold and rainy! We made the best of it though. We started out with a Conditioning class with Kehinde, which felt amazing! After running around London all weekend and then sitting on trains for a few hours, it was nice to reconnect with my body! After a few lectures and a quick lunch, a few of us ventured out to the Marais area to work on our next assignment. We will be guiding a walking tour of the area tomorrow, so those of us who wanted to get ahead a bit went out to explore! My assignment is to briefly discuss the history of the Places des Vosges, so I wanted to at least be able to see it and take it in before doing my research. It actually turned out to be very interesting! It was constructed from 1605 to 1612, and it is the oldest true square (140 meters x 140 meters) in Paris. All 36 buildings follow the same design by Baptiste du Cerceau, and there is a lovely garden in the middle.

Once we scouted out our “required” locations, we stayed around for a while just to explore! We found an amazing chocolate shop and an entire store devoted to honey! Gianna and I also spent about 30 minutes wandering around a bookstore! Loren said she found an amazing (but unfortunately expensive) tea store in the area over the weekend, so we’ll definitely be on the lookout for that tomorrow!

I think that was about it for today. Now I’m just back at the FIAP drinking a lovely cup of green tea and preparing for the presentation I will be giving tomorrow about Anna Pavlova. Bonne nuit!  

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!