At just eight years old, aspiring ballet dancers from all around the world come to the Paris Opera Ballet School. If they are lucky for the next few years the school is where they will, eat, sleep, study, dance and train alongside the professionals they one day hope to become. While stories of young want-to-be stars are quite common, Budding Stars of the Paris Opera Ballet dwells deeper into the lives of young people who aspire to be some of the most polished and disciplined performers in the world.
The Paris Opera Ballet School was established 300 years ago and has an international reputation for training the world’s best “étoiles”, meaning stars or in this case principal dancers. Director Francoise Marie wastes no time setting the scene: It is the first day back after the summer holidays and parents are helping their little dancers move into what will for the next few month be their entire world.
The six part series chronicles the lives of students from eight to 18 over an entire school year as they all strive for one goal- to join their idols in the “corps de ballet”. On top of their extremely demanding training schedule students also attend normal academic classes, studying everything from the French revolution to the human body. Interviews with students and instructors from all six stages of the program chronicle their hopes, doubts and greatest fears.
The series plunges into many layers of the students’ lives as well as the character of the school itself. The roots and traditions of classical ballet is a thread that is sewn through every episode. Weather it is through formal curtseys of welcome to all elders or close-ups of the technique of putting on point shoes, the audience is always reminded of the strong traditions that are central to the practice of the art form.
Unlike stories of pushy parents and stage-moms that can very often surround the narrative about young performers, many students at this school fought their parents to let them become part of this very disciplined and competitive world. The knowledge and articulate explanations of their goals make these young, pre-teen dancers seem wise beyond their years. Scenes of students’ rooms, covered in family pictures and Skype calls with parents, acts as a reminder, to remain at school they have to adjust and learn to live without their families. There is a portrayal of a very strong community among the students, each turning to their “little mums” or “little dads” when they need some advice or comforting.
As the series continues another theme emerges, one of isolation. The students describe living in a bubble, a world apart from those who live in the “real world”. Some of them are nervous about leaving because they can’t relate to people on the “outside”. The interviews in this section of the series is incredibly insightful and strong.
The documentary is surprisingly powerful and acts as a window into the lives of young people who live and breathe their art form in a place that values and challenges their gifts. There is one thing about the Paris Opera Ballet School that is definitely clear at the end of this series. Young dancer Aurelian said it best: ‘You have to have nerves of steel to stay.’
Rating: 4 out of 5
Budding Stars of the Paris Opera Ballet
Director: Francoise Marie
Country: France
Length: 6×26 minutes
Distributor: MADMAN
