Ballet Classes in France

This is Juliet’s sixth year taking ballet classes, and the way it’s taught in France never ceases to charm me.

This is a purely self-indulgent post because I was never particularly graceful at ballet (or at anything else for that matter) so I could just stare at my daughter for hours who IS graceful. Combine that with an inherent love for ballet, and you have a post composed purely of ballet photos and videos of my daughter that is likely to appeal only to a minority.

But it’s my blog, so …

Children in France are more likely to learn ballet at a city or town conservatory than in a small dance school. Not all towns have a conservatory, but many do, even the small ones (including ours). Whether or not it’s taught at a school or conservatory, the children are required to wear matching uniforms for the practice sessions, according to what year they’re studying.

Juliet is waiting for the Open House to begin.

Another aspect of learning at the conservatory is that the requirements are the same nation-wide. At the end of the year, an independent jury comes to the conservatoire to test each student individually to see if they are fit to pass to the next level. (They’re not cruel – you don’t have to be a professional-in-training to pass, you just have to acquire the steps).

I think the class structure is the same as in the States, but those of you in the know can correct me.

They begin with barre exercises, basic stretching and legwork.

We’ve seen a lot of progress in the first few months of this year, which says a lot since we lost their usual dance teacher (a former principal ballerina) to the conservatory in Versailles. Who can blame her, though! It’s such a prestigious position.

The new teacher is young, but she’s well-liked, funny, and doesn’t take any nonsense:

“I don’t know … sounded a bit like some hippopotamuses dancing over there.”