Iron Mademoiselle of the French Ballet – Kommersant

The traditional spring session of the graduation performances of the Ecole de la danse on the stage of the Opera Garnier ended with a gala performance in honor of the 90th anniversary of Claude Bessy, an étoile and the main reformer of the ballet school, which she directed from 1973 to 2004. Tells Maria Sidelnikova.

Claude Bessy – Lifar’s favorite, Béjart’s soul mate, “sister” on the stage of the departed Pierre Lacotte, the oldest living great étoile of the Paris Opera of the 20th century and mentor of many acting ones – celebrated her 90th birthday last year, on October 21. But celebrations in the native theater have been scheduled for this April, which, with her resolute hand, has been held at the Opera for half a century under the sign of the School of Dance and its “little rats”. By the way, Bessie herself couldn’t stand this affectionately derogatory definition, inherited from the 19th century, believing that she was raising not gray mice, but unique “Martians”, as she called them. And so it was: Sylvie Guillem, Laurent Hilaire, Manuel Legris, Agnes Letestu, José Martinez, Nicolas Le Rich, Aurélie Dupont and many of her other students are still unattainable ballet figures. The strong-willed headmistress introduced the tradition of graduation performances in 1977. In the post-war years, when she herself studied, children were involved in opera interludes, but over time this practice has sunk into oblivion, while the baptism of fire on the stage is perhaps the most important element of the educational process for the future artist of the Parisian troupe.

The anniversary evening was opened with a Parisian classic – an excerpt from “Suite in White” by Serge Lifar to the music of Lalo. Bessie knows this ballet better than anyone: she danced all the parts in it, then she was his tutor, in 2017 she even transferred it to the stage of the Stanislavsky Museum Theatre. For the gala, they seamlessly merged the beginning of the ballet with the end, throwing out the variations. It turned out cleanly and advantageously to demonstrate the strengths of the school: from poses, pattern and dance top to a technical finale with a series of fouettes and big jumps. From “Yondering” (1996), John Neumeier’s sentimental ode to the passing youth to the music of Stephen Foster, the favorite neoclassical reader of all students, two complementary fragments were also singled out. The sensual trio “Beautiful Dreamer” with a promising graduate Maelis Siorozas, whose fragile body nervously and stylishly responded to the manipulation of partners, and the male passage “This is what matters”, in which youngsters with a naked torso, in a cowboy way, effortlessly cross the border of an unknown adult life, and if interpreted more broadly, they turn from students into artists. And they succeeded in this transformation to glory, the feeling of the stage cannot be taken away from the Parisians.

“M pour B” (“Maurice for Bessie”) – Béjart’s homage to his charismatic girlfriend, staged in 1990, first in Brussels and a year later transferred to the students of the Parisian school. From the half-hour ballet they carved out a series of lively duets performed by four couples, where each ballerina is blonde, like Bessie. The man here is on the sidelines, as a reliable support. This was Bejart himself in his younger years: ballerinas went to any tricks, just to get him as a partner. This excerpt, stuffed with lifts, sweeping batmans a la second, tall arabesques and dashing dives into stretching bends, is first of all a test of temperament, of the ability to present oneself on stage, which Claude Bessy has always been famous for. The central part was played by Lisa Petit, a short, lively graduate with an enviable aplomb, confident technique and a determined attitude to enter the troupe. Her classmate, Lilas Parra, the soloist of one of the couples, also drew attention to herself, but not with flashy self-confidence, but with her step and beautiful lines. He completed the program with Bach’s Concerto in D Major choreographed by Bessie herself, a showcase of French ballet mastery. She staged it for the first graduation performance in 1977 on the principle of a class-concert, in order to clearly show how ballet technique evolves class after class, how children become artists. By the festive gala, this multi-layered and crowded ballet dancer was fairly cleaned up: it was clear how carefully the little feet closed into perfect fifths, how the heels lowered, the hands sighed exemplarily, how the rises in the “birdies” were cunning in order to more beautifully line up the arabesque line. In particular, yes, but the general feeling of unity and harmony, which the French school is so proud of, was still lacking.

The program of the gala was supplemented with the biographical film Claude Bessy. Lines of Life. Unique documentary footage with comments by Bessie dwells in detail on each milestone: at the age of 9 she entered school, at 13 – at the Opera, at 14, immediately after the war, she had her first trip to the United States, which largely determined her career and views. The girl, who knew nothing but the ballet lessons of Carlotta Zambelli and Albert Aveline, suddenly discovered Broadway and jazz. She recalls how the ABT artists amazed her: one season they dance the classics, the other – musicals. Many years later, Bessie will introduce all these pop and modern disciplines (jazz, modern) into the school curriculum. “A ballerina should be able to dance everything,” the voice-over of the main character sounds, and on the screen she either seduces Jeanne Kelly in Hollywood style with frank splits, or innocently pulls the perfect arabesque next to her Daphnis – Cyril Atanasov, or reincarnates into the tragic Phaedra, by her own example proving their postulates. Etoile at 25 (“A dancer with golden lines!” Lifar growls with a Russian accent), and already at 34 her career almost ended – an accident, a broken leg, ribs, concussion. But the iron will and character, after only seven months, put Bessie on her feet. And with it, the two-thousand-seat Garnier Hall: the return to the stage of the beloved etoile was greeted with a standing ovation. Right before retirement, she danced Béjart’s “Bolero”, and as she danced, fiery sparks fly from black and white shots. With Bejart, she even tried to direct the ballet of the Opera, but ahead of her was another director’s post and life’s work – Ecole de la danse. In 30 years, she will win back a separate building for a boarding school, build a new school in Nanterre (until 1987, students huddled under the roofs of Garnier), separate general education hours and ballet, make open lessons, shows, performances, create a separate school repertoire, will invite to the productions of modern choreographers, send the school on tour, drill, scold to tears and also laugh to tears … and will not notice how the clouds have already gathered around. One day, “the sky will fall on my head,” as she later wrote in her memoirs: an anonymous survey initiated by trade unions will convict the outspoken headmistress of “authoritarianism” and “moral harassment of children.” In 2004, she will leave her post. She will be replaced by the neat, diplomatic Elizabeth Platel. Wounds from insults have long healed – in the Opera they are healed by time. “I led with character and will. I have no regrets,” says Claude Bessy at the end of the film, his head held high. The way they taught her at school and the way she taught herself.