Petite Danseuse De Degas

A Very Classical Modern Ballet
This ballet is surprisingly classical in its choreography while the music is quite the opposite, but more about that later. Patrice Bart has once again expressed his love for the classical style in the way he choreographed this homage to Edgar Degas and his sculpture of "The Little Dancer"(a figure of a young dancer standing in fourth position with her hands behind her, as in the pose on the cover of this DVD). Every aspect of the dancing is classical, including the distribution of solos among both male and female(on pointe) dancers, as well as pas de deux, and larger group dances, and arrangements for the corps de ballet. To add to the classicism, the setting itself is the late 19th century world of Parisian ballet class, whose traditions and structure are well depicted in the settings, and nicely explained in the interviews, which are included as a bonus. So, in effect, this is a ballet about ballet! The level of the choreography is what we would expect of the Paris Opera Ballet:...

Visually Stunning
The story of Marie Van Goethem, the 14-year-old ballet dancer from the Paris Opera Ballet and the model for the famous sculpture "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans" by Degas, has always interested me. Unfortunately though, very little is known about her life after she left the Opera House.

As a devoted fan of the Paris Opera Ballet, I was very excited to see this DVD release and add it to my vast collection of performances. The sets, lighting, costumes, dancers and choreography were absolutely gorgeous...like a painting in motion. The musical score is quite another story though and is barely tolerable. Picture an orchestra pit full of 5-year-old children banging away on musical instruments and that's about what the music sounds like. As a former dancer myself, I can't even imagine having to listen and rehearse to that music for hours on end...yikes. I've rated this 4 stars, but would have given it 5 had the music not been so grating.

If you are a fan of the...

A New Classic for the Paris Opera Ballet
La Petite Danseuse de Degas, with choreography by Patrice Bart and music by Denis Levaillant, is a stunning addition to the Paris Opera Ballet repertoire.
The story is of the girl who posed for the famous statue by Degas, La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans. The sets, though somewhat minimalist, are stunning; the costumes are beautiful and completely appropriate for this ballet. The formations that are made throughout the ballet, combined with the sets and costumes, display living Degas paintings. One of the scenes in the first act, a ballet class, is a model of one of the famous studios at the Paris Opera Ballet, where Degas painted. Seeing the dancers take a class in their costumes, which of course correspond to those of Degas' paintings, give me goosebumps.
The principal dancers are all stunning and portray their dramatic roles very well. Most notably, Clairemarie Osta, as the The Little Dancer, and Benjamin Pech, as The Man in Black, an ominous, omnipresent, complex, and...

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