Paris Opera Ballet

Tuesday was my first class with Paris Opera Ballet and my first class on my travel scholarship. I arrived at stage door of Palais Garnier at 9 30am as I had been advised to do. I was told to ask for Leila which I did and the lady at stage door gave me my pass but told me to wait for her to arrive. Class began at 10am and at 9 55am, Leila had still not shown up. The lady at stage door didn't speak English so when I asked where Leila was, her response was a "no personne". At 10am I thought I may as well just leave but then Leila turned up. I had missed the 10am class but there was a class at 11 30am which she said I could take. This worked out quite well because I was able to watch the end of the earlier class. Due the size of Paris Opera Ballet they have 3 classes per day and at two different theatres, Opera Garnier and Opera Bastille. I was asking Hannah how it all works and basically there is a 10am class which is usually the younger dancers and then there is an 11 30am class, both which are an hour and a half. Then there is also an 11 am class in anothers studio which is a bit shorter and there is also an evening class. So I was able to watch the end of the 10am class which Hannah was doing so that was really nice to see her. Then I did the 11 30 class which had some of the soloist and etoiles which was very cool. Oh and also I forgot to say that the studio floor is raked, just like the stage at Opera Garnier. I felt alright at barre although balances were a bit weird because I had to shift my weight kind of sideways and either forward or back but it made it easier to stand in 5th! Centre was a different story..combine the rake with jet lag and you get some very uncoordinated ballet on my behalf, especially pirouettes and pointe work. We did a menage of pose turns around the room at the end of class which was so strange. I started off at back corner and went along the back which was fine but then turned the corner and you go downhill then you turn corner and go flat and then turn corner and you have to go uphill. It was alright though because by this point there were only about 6 dancers left in class, to witness my attempt at this menage. Im not sure of the name of the guy who taught class this day but he spoke French for the whole class so I didn't understand a thing, yet ballet is so universal that I had no issues picking up the exercises. It seems that the general patterns of exercise are the same wherever you go. Although it was not my best class, I thoroughly enjoyed having the chance to dance along such dancers at Dorethee Gilbert in the beautiful, historic Opera Garnier. I got lost trying to get out of the theatre..everything from the studios, to wardrobe and the stage are all in the same building so there are many levels and corridors to get lost in. I was very tired from my morning so I didn't do much else for rest of the day. I saw Onegin at Opera Garnier that night at 7 30pm. I just love that theatre! I went inside the foyer last time I was in Paris but never had a the chance to see the inside of the auditorium. It is so beautiful, all red and gold and ornate. I and a great seat in the orchestra/ stall area. So it turns out that the etoiles dancers ( Dorethee Gilbert and Eve Grinsztajin) who were dancing the leads in Onegin, did the class I did that morning so that was cool. It was so interesting to see the transformation of what they were like in class and then to see them on stage. They both looked stunning on stage and had such beautiful technique and artistry. The corps were also great. There was a lot of fast and complex foot work and it was all meticulate and precise. The Australian Ballet is doing Onegin next year so it was good to see the ballet and get an idea of what it is like.