Paris Opera Ballet School Demonstrations Show at Opéra Bastille

As an echo to the Tricentenary celebrations of 2013, the Paris Opera Ballet School pursues its journey through the stylistic history of the French School. The evening begins with Concerto en Ré, created by Claude Bessy in 1977 for the first performance by the school she directed from 1973 until 2004, and which brought all the students on stage. The journey continues with the Danish romanticism of August Bournonville, with its pas de six and Neapolitan tarantella providing touches of Italian colour; thence to Scaramouche, created in 2005 by Danseur Étoile José Martinez for the younger pupils, a production which draws on the pantomime tradition of the Commedia dell'arte. The voyage ends on the shores of John Neumeier's neoclassicism with Yondering. Alongside the annual demonstrations which give an insight into the richness of the school's teaching, this production allows the audience to appreciate the excellence of the French School of Dance and the training passed on, developed and maintained over a period of several centuries.