ETRE NOIR A L OPERA

English voice version

 

 

James Brack - Guillaume Diop 

Matthew Luret - Binkady/Erwan/Dancer/Alexander - 

Bibi Jacob -Florence/Elizabeth/boy 1/Girl 3/ girls / Mom/ Girl 1/Girl 3/ Amandine

Hester Wilcox -  Dorothée/ Aioko/Mariame/boy2/girl4/ Juliette/girls/Perrine/Mohamed/Make up artist

Sharon Mann - Myriam/Girl 2/boy 3/Sabri (ado)/.Céline/Tania/Sabrina/Chief hairdresser/girl 2/presenter/Nadine

Kester Lovelace - Martin/Chief Make up artist/dancer 2/radio Journalist/Fari

Olivier Raynal - José/Dad/Make up artist 

Viviane Bossina - Sulivan. 

 

 

01.00.16 José subtitles

C’est avec une grande émotion qu’après cette représentation de Gisèle à Séoul, J’ai l’immense plaisir de nommer Guillaume Diop danseur étoile

 

Intro Guillaume 

 

01.01.03 Guillaume

Being named danseur étoile really means something, one because I'm of mixed race, but also because I'm aware of the role that I have and will have. Because I missed out on that; I never had a role model.

 

So me being where I am today will change things for a lot of kids.

I receive a lot of messages that reassured me; and I'm very proud of representing something to them. But the whole thing is a bit scary, too.

 

Especially as I'm only just 23, and I still need to get to know myself and to represent myself, before representing others. But I need to do both, which is a bit difficult.

 

Backstage interview

 

01.02:01 Guillaume

I'll talk a lot beforehand. 

 

01.02.03 Binkady

Right. 

 

01.02.04 Guillaume

So that way...

01.02.08

Then I'll talk about my folks and stuff...

 

01.02.12 Binkady

I think they'll also ask you questions about... 

 

01.02.15 Guillaume

And then they'll react to what I say...

 

01.02.17 Binkady

Yeah, but I’m sure theyll ask questions about the manifesto.

01.02.20

And about you being a symbol. 

 

01.02.27 Guillaume

I'll try to unwind... 

I'm more nervous than I am before a ballet!

 

ABC interview

 

Clapperboard man English

01.02.38

So Interview Guillaume Diop, take 1

 

Journalist ABC English

01.02.42

You are the first black dancer to ever be named star dancer at Paris Opera Ballet. Why did it take so long to get here do you think?

Do you think there is something racist in Ballet and can not change?

And What would you say to critics who say that you only got this nomination  because of this project?

01.03.01

Guillaume English

I think it’s very unfair 

 

01.03.03

 

OPENING CREDITS 

 

Guillaume and Dorothée, rehearsal

 

 

01.03.16 Florence

From the top of the pas-de-deux.

01.03.20

Go that way, but eyes over here.

01.03.24

Dorothée - oups i’m off balance there

One thing that looks really good, I must say...

01.03.29

Can you make it like you're alone...?

 

01.03.32 Dorothée

It's kind of what we're doing. 

 

01.03.34 Florence

But you can't see it every time.

Now fall on him... That's it.

 

01.03.37 Dorothée

Jeez, it's dangerous...

 

01.03.39 Florence

It is dangerous. 

01.03.43

Guillaume, every time you catch her, you're like this.

Can you...? 

 

Dorothée

I’m trying but It's really tricky...

 

01.03.55 Florence

But I like it, Dorothée. 

 

01.04.12

Keep going...

Shame! 

 

Guillaume

I'm not dancing to the music, so it's useless.

 

Florence

Do you want to re-count?

 

Guillaume

I'm fed up.

I feel like I’m no good...

 

 

01.04.25 Florence

What? 

 

Guillaume

I feel like I’m no good.

 

01.04.27 Florence

Why do you say that? Are you OK? 

 

01.04.30 Guillaume

I don't know...

 

01.04.33 Florence

Do you mean in general, or just today?

 

01.04.36 Guillaume

In general. 

 

01.04.37 Florence

We'll talk about it afterwards. You can explain.

 

01.04.41 Guillaume

From the manège, please, Michel.

 

Florence

Good

01.04.50

Great, that's lovely... 

 

01.04.56 Guillaume

When you're Black, Asian or mixed race, with all the issues concerning positive discrimination at the moment, every time you achieve something, you wonder whether that's the reason.

01.05.10

So that's why I worked myself to death, to avoid that feeling of illegitimacy and people saying you're only where you are because you're Black.

 

01.05.27 Florence

Cross...

 

Guillaume

I'm exhausted...

 

Guillaume, Swan Lake

 

 

01.05.59 Guillaume

The Paris Opera has a very particular way of working the feet, the pointes...

01.06.07

Sure, there's a typical Paris Opera physique.

01.06.14

But that's something we're trying to get away from more and more.

01.06.18

But in the collective imagination, ballet is an art form that's reserved for White people. 

 

Manifesto

 

01.06.42 English

Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!

 

01.06.45 Radio - subtitles

Minneapolis où est mort George Floyd, cet afro américain brutalement arrêté lundi dernier... Il a été sans le  vouloir à l’origine de l’embrasement d’une partie du pays

 

01.06.53 English

Fuck The police!

 

01.07.00 Guillaume

When George Floyd died, Isaac, Letizia, Awa and I said we ought to draw up a manifesto to open up a discussion regarding skin color at the Paris Opera.

 

07.05

Manifesto – subtitles

 

01.07.36 Guillaume

Because it's a subject that's rarely brought up; especially regarding practical things like make-up and tights. But also to ask how we can make the Paris Opera a more inclusive place. 

 

01.07.56 Radio - subtitles 

Pourquoi si peu d'artistes racisés à l'Opéra?  Comment dépoussiérer un répertoire ancien qui peut charrier de l'exotisme et du racisme? 

 

01.08.07 Guillaume

When the manifesto came out in the press, we got called niggers and monkeys... And there were even Black people who said, "But anyway, you're not real Blacks; so it's pointless; you were the one who decided to take up a White man's sport."

It was really violent, because I was only 20 and I didn't see anything wrong with the steps we were taking.

01.08.30

But in fact, I felt so much more myself after the manifesto, and I think that came across in my approach to dance and life in general, so I don't regret it.

                                                

Diversity Committee, May 2023

 

01.08.52 Myriam

It's our duty to have artists who represent the diversity of French society and to open our doors to talent, wherever it comes from or wherever it lives, so that we can contribute to equal opportunity in France.

The question is: how do we seek out and identify children with extraordinary aptitudes that fit with the aptitudes required for our artistic training?

 

01.09.21 Elisabeth

Twenty years ago, we were still saying that someone with an African background wouldn't have "the correct feet". That's a term we fortunately don't use any more; but it was something that started forty years ago.

 

01.09.35 Martin

The arch of the foot...

 

01.09.38 Elisabeth

Exactly, terminology like that.

I took part in a big discussion two weeks ago in Toronto on esthetics and technique.

Great, we no longer consider morphology, but some ballet directors said, "We look for technical quality. And someone without an arched foot will not be able to dance on pointe, and will therefore be restricted in a purely academic repertoire."

That's the question that's posing a problem in the ballet school right now: How do we integrate people of different origin, and ensure that they feel good, that they feel accepted, and that their teachers, accept them with their eyes? So we need to change the way teachers see things. 

 

01.10.29 Ayoko

That's very important.

 

01.10.30 Elisabeth

And that's what I'm working on.

It's harder with girls than with boys; because with boys, we're immediately drawn by their physical performance, their power; whereas a girl needs something poetic about her.

So its also a gender problem...

(to Myriam) Not right now, please... later!

 

01.10.47 Martin

I don't know about this question of the arched foot; that's your job really. But associating this characteristic with an ethnic origin does make things tricky; especially when, within a population with Asian or African roots, there are all kinds of morphologies. So of course, it's a very tricky area.  

 

 

01.11.11 José  

Take Japan. They sat on the floor cross-legged for years, so the shape of the Japanese leg – even though it's changing – is different to that of a European leg.

 

01.11.22 Martin

It has to do with a cultural practice...

 

01.11.24 José

Exactly.

 

01.11.25 Martin

...or a posture, and not necessarily something innate.

 

01.11.31 José

Before, there were fewer cultural exchanges...

 

01.11.34 Mariame

So these were cultural representations...

 

01.11.35 José

Exactly.

 

01.11.36 Mariame

...not physical realities.

 

Yes that’s it

 

01.11.41 Elisabeth

It's a question of stereotype.

There are lots of examples of people who don't have arched feet, or open hips, and have managed to overcome that.

 

There's an exam coming up and I have several girls of diverse origin, but three of them are technically limited. And if we take the decision – and I'll discuss this with José – not to pass them, I don't want people saying "You've gotten rid of kids of certain origins and kept the others," when these girls have reached a point in their development where they're limited in their movement and technique.

 

01.12.14 José

In terms of posture.

 

01.12.16 Elisabeth

Right. So it's a problem. 

And it's a particular problem for the girls. Because the boys are coming to us.

And now, the role model has become the Russian ballerina, Svetlana Zakharova. How can girls from diverse ethnic backgrounds identify with her on Instagram? That's where our problem is.

I didn't receive a single candidature for mixed race girls aged 11 to 13.  I got five or six boys, and we accepted three of them. So we really need to support students of diverse backgrounds, in the group and in their families, because one of my students was the victim of certain comments after Guillaume Diop was named étoile: "You're only picked because you're the same color as Guillaume!"

 

01.13.09 Mariame

There comes a moment where we have to choose... otherwise nothing will ever change. 

Because the moment we willfully change things, the way people see things will also change. What we see as the visual homogeneity of ballet now – the Bayadères and so on – in 50 years time, audiences will have a different notion of this visual homogeneity.

 

01.13.30 Elisabeth

50, 60 years ago, ballet wasn't homogenous.

 

01.13.33 Mariame

Exactly, and we know that well!

There's no absolute truth for the Bayadère. 

 

01.13.39 Myriam

Thank you all.

 

01.13.41 Martin

My utmost thanks for that extremely inspiring and enriching discussion. 

 

Parade

 

01.13.50 Elisabeth

Keep in time...

1, 2, 3, 4...

And off you go!

7, 8, 1, 2

Follow your line now... Good!

Follow your line.

A touch too late..

Not so fast, girls!

Find your line!

Going forwards...

 

01.14.11 Guillaume

Hey! 

You're in line 'n' all. 

How you doing? 

How are the classes going? 

What’re your names? I know you...

What's your name? 

 

Girl 1

01.14.23

Camille.

 

01.14.24 Guillaume

Camille. And yours? 

 

Girl 2

Lilane. 

 

Guillaume

Lilane, OK

 

Boy 1

Leih.

 

Guillaume

Leih...

 

Boy 2

Noah.

 

Guillaume

Good to meet you. 

 

Boy 3

Sabri. 

 

Girl 3

Laly

 

Guillaume

Laly?

 

Girl 4

Anna. 

 

Guillaume

And Joachim. 

 

Sabri

01.14.35

Is your career as a dancer full of ups and downs? 

 

 

01.14.40 Guillaume

I think it's like that for everyone. Ballet school is tough, in that it's where you grow up.

You construct who you are and learn to like what you see in the mirror.

We often hear about our defects, but it's also important to know your qualities and to continue taking pleasure in dancing.

And not to go to the bar every morning and judge yourself, saying "My feet are ugly, my thighs are too chunky..." Because it's not true.

So you have to learn to like yourself and keep dancing because you enjoy it. I think that's the most important.

OK, see you later for the parade...

You can all go now.

 

Girls

Thanks, bye.

 

Guillaume

Bye. 

 

01.15.39 Girls

Let's pose like this!

 

01.15.44 girls

No, just like this...

 

01.15.47 girls

We can't see Sophia, she's not in the frame.

It's cool with the feet, but with the hands and feet, it makes a spiral... It looks great. 

 

Guillaume and parents

 

01.16.45 Mom

Hello!

01.17.02

Some tea?

 

Juliette

Yes, please. 

 

01.17.04 Mom

I made green tea. Is that alright? 

 

Juliette

Yeah, that's good. 

 

Guillaume

Can I have some? 

17.15

Thank you. 

 

01.17.25 Guillaume

Mom, do you remember when I first told you I wanted to be a dancer? 

 

Mom

Actually, I think it was Safi who told me.

 

Guillaume

Oh yeah?

 

Mom

You kept sneaking off and joining the dance class without being enrolled.

 

Guillaume

Really?

 

Mom

It was a good framework for you; you needed something to channel all your energy.

 

01.17.45 Dad

At the beginning, lots of people didn't think you'd stick to it.

Some of the other parents said to me, the first time they saw me there," It won't be easy for him, it won't be easy..."

 

Mom

My biggest fear was that they were taking my son away into a world I knew nothing about. 

 

Dad

In France, dance is thought of as a profession. But in Africa, in Senegal, not at all.

You can't for a moment imagine dance as a profession.

Dancing is something you do out of pleasure. It's no way a profession.

When you see a youngster dancing, you say, "Stop dancing; go get a job!"

 

01.18.45 Guillaume

It was quite worrying for them because they didn't know if I would fit in and grow up level-headed in a milieu like that. So yes, it did worry them.

My mom's mentality was to think that it was better for me to try, because it was what I wanted to do; and if it didn't work out, then at least I'd tried.

But it was a lot more stressful for my dad.

 

01.19.07 Mom

I remember one of your birthdays, I was traumatized.

We invited your friends from the conservatory and your other friends to stop over and at breakfast, the little girls and boys were looking the calories  the calories the number of calories in the fruit juice!

And then we took them out for a kebab! Yeah a kebab! And that was like... wow!

 

01.19.32 dad

Sacrilege! "They're trying to corrupt our kids!"

 

01.19.36 Mom

I'd say that's their best memory...

 

01.19.41 Juliette

What were you worried about?

 

01.19.43 Mom

There wasn't worried about Guillaume's origins. Although the ballet teacher at the conservatory said he had a big round butt.  Big butt She said he had flat feet and a big butt.

 

01.19.59 Dad

The stereotypes: the feet and the butt!

 

Mom

You were terrible with your feet: you'd jam them under the couch and try to break them to form an arch.

 

01.20.11 Guillaume

I never really talk about ballet school because... it was quite traumatizing.

I think it's why I'm still really close to the friends I made at ballet school, because it was so psychologically violent. You're only 12, 13...

and you're told that you never do enough, that you're a bit chubby, you don't work hard enough, you're lazy, you don't break a sweat...

 

01.21.02

I didn't know what more I needed to do for them to say I was doing well.

 

01.21.13 Mom

Fortunately, Alvin Ailey saved Guillaume... And us, too!

There was a moment where if you hadn't gone to Alvin Ailey, you'd have quite dancing. You were putting yourself in physical danger, so it was time to go try something else.

 

01.21.28 Guillaume

Well I was traumatized... I'd lost a lot of weight... I was becoming anorexic.

 

At the Paris Opera, there were no other Black kids, and I really worried about things. And my teacher, Marc du Bouays, advised me to take a six-week course at Alvin Ailey,  alone at 16 years old in New York.

 

01.22.00

The Alvin Ailey company is made up mainly of African Americans, and much of its repertoire tells the story of African Americans, in Louisiana, for example.

 

01.22.15

I needed to be in an environment where there were Black dancers who were professionals and fulfilled. And it did me the world of good.

It was also great to be in a place where there was no bodily mold, like there can be at the Paris Opera.

 

Nutcracker meeting

 

01.22.51 Erwann

From one-thirty to four, we'll do The Nutcracker. 

There'll be a break from four to four-thirty; and we'll continue from four-thirty to seven pm. Can you start with Act One, Sabrina? 

 

Sabrina

Always in order, yes.

 

01.23.03 José

The headdress in the Chinese dance is out, right? 

 

Hairdresser

That's right.

 

01.23.08 José

Let's just check on the make-up... 

So, normal make-up, nothing characteristic. 

One thing we must decide on is whether the hair's brushed back or whether the heads are bald, as it's closer to the original; but without a ponytail or a mustache.

So all three of them can be bald, which gives no particular clue to their nationality; but it's closer to the original. So if you can knock up some bald heads for the first dress rehearsal, which is when?

01.23.41

 

01.23.42 Chief hairdresser

The 4th, I think.

 

01.23.43 José

For when we try out the costumes.

 

01.23.45 Chief hairdresser

So we add the Chinese.

 

01.24.46 José

Then we can see what it looks like on stage, and then we'll make the final decision. For the rest of the entertainment scenes, the other dances, there are no characteristic hairstyles, just the costumes?

 

01.24 .02 Chief hairdresser

Right.

 

01.24.03 José

OK, so no special make-up, nothing. 

 

Sulivan rehearses alone 

 

01.24.25 Sulivan

Damn, it works! 

01.24.30

It was a mess before... 

 

01.24.35

The principle behind the Paris Opera Academy is that they recruit young musicians to be part of the Opera for a year or two, and they play with the orchestra, and practice with them,  and that gives us an incredible repertoire which we couldn't have access to if we weren't at the Academy. 

 

Sulivan and Perrine, coffee break

 

01.24.59 Sulivan

There's a guy at the CNSM, who's just finished his final year in guitar and euphonium! Who does that? I think, jeez, some people are awesome! And I play just the one little instrument.

 

01.25.19 Perrine

Enrolling at a music school in Paris isn't a bad idea. At least it'd structure your work. 

 

01.25.38 Sulivan

And as I live in Paris, it wouldn't be too expensive.

 

My teachers really want me to join an orchestra.

But I don't know if I really want to, or if it's just them. They're right in that it gives you financial security and incredible music, but...

 

01.25.44 Perrine

I’ve got to say, that the Paris Opera is really the stuff of dreams.

 

01.26.05 Sulivan

The pieces we play are just crazy!

But spending your whole life down the orchestra pit... it's a bit dark!

 

Otherwise, I could be a zouk star!

And I'm only half kidding!

Just playing totally different music!

 

Perrine

I know!

 

Sulivan

And you know me!

 

I miss playing gigs in Martinique. And it's fun teaching kids who are kind of mini-mes. You know, like, "you're not in my family are you?"

 

Sulivan rehearses with the orchestra

 

01.27.34 Sulivan

I'm starting to get to know the orchestra functions. You have to watch the conductor, watch the soloist, never get caught out and always stay focused.

01.27.54

You try your hardest to fit in by trying to learn the scores, keeping up and being attentive. 

 

01.28.28 Conductor English

Ok, so just be careful there, it's a little bit more grandiose. 

Pour les bois... just we hold the tempo, just a little bit at the andante

 

01.28.47 Sulivan

Sometimes I wonder where the culture and origin of my parents is in what I do.

If I wasn't playing classical music, but rather the music of Martinique, or other Black music, would I feel more at home? I don't know. 

01.29.04

 

Sulivan at home with Céline 

 

01.29.25 Sulivan

Press down well on it. 

 

01.29.29 Céline

OK. 

01.29. 43 

A-sharp, G... that's it, yeah. 

 

01.29.52 Sulivan

I think it's more B-flat than A-sharp.

OK, let's record. 

01.30.20

5th degree F and... B-flat...

 

01.30.22 Céline

How were the  Paris conservatory people compared to those in Villejuif?

 

01.30.24 Sulivan

When I arrived and the teacher said, "You're the first Black girl ever," I was like, "Oh great!"

 

01.30.29 Céline

What tone did he say it in?

 

01.30.31 Sulivan

Informative, I'd say... Maybe I should've gone "Wow!", but I was like "Ah...". It's meant to sound cool and make you proud, but you feel a bit alone. 

 

01.30.43 Céline

But it's what I keep telling you in a way: you're something of a pioneer.

 

01.30.48 Sulivan

In spite of myself!

I've never thought I want to be the first Black to do this or that. Some people do.

But when it happens, I'm just like "cool".

When you know you're the only Black person to do this or that, but the only people who look like you are the clerks, the cleaners and the cafeteria staff... But when they turn around and say, "It's really great seeing you do this; stick at it," then it feels awesome, it's really cool.

 

01.31.23 Céline

When you saw you were the only Black person in the orchestra, how did you feel?

 

01.31.31 Sulivan

To tell the truth, I'm used to it.

You have to remember that classical music is the music of Europeans, of White people. So is it shocking to find more White people? Not really. But then again, I'm also French.

There are specific things, like May 22nd, days that are important to descendents of slavery... And sometimes, you just wanna be with people who you don't have to explain racism or slavery and stuff too. 

 

I explain things nicely to people, it's never a bother.

I say to them, « You call me ‘Black', in English when speaking French, but in French I’m « Noire » so im like, say it with me Noooire!  So now they’ » careful about how they call me.  Noire isn’t an insult.  Its the color of my skin and its classy!

False bald heads

 

01.32.59 Sabrina

We're going to cut the lights and you'll be in the dark... 

01.33.08

OK, we're ready... 

 

01.34.00 Hairdresser

Will you keep your beard and mustache?

 

01.34.02 Dancer

No way, I can't!

 

01.34.04 Hairdresser

Just for today then? 

 

01.34.05 Dancer

Yeah, because we're still in rehearsal. 

 

01.34.18 Hairdresser

You don't look very Chinese.

 

01.34.11 Dancer

Me? No, not at all. 

 

01.34.18 Hairdresser

Let me pull it... (No thanks, I'm good) Let go...

I'm sorry, it's unpleasant at first, it pulls your hair...

 

01.34.32 Chief make-up artist

Just do natural make-up. They said "natural make-up".

Maybe you can do the eyes a bit more. Before the make-up was much more Chinese... 

 

01.34.42 Make-up artist

I know...

 

01.34.43  Hairdresser

Looks good, huh? 

 

01.34.44 Dancer

Yeah! I had a worse memory of the fake bald head! 

 

01.34.47  Hairdresser

You've worn one before? 

 

01.35.48 Dancer

Yes, and I thought I looked hideous. 

 

01.35.51 Hairdresser

I glued it just here.

 

That was quick

 

José debriefing

 

01.35.19 Technician? Ou José

Chinese guys! 

 

01.35.23 Dancer 1

Honestly, it's fine. 

 

01.35.35 Dancer 2 ou José?

I prefer the fake bald heads.

 

01.35.37 José

The important thing is not to do a "Yellow Face" with Chinese make-up and stuff. 

The false bald heads look more like what was originally planned.

Without that Yellow-Face side to it. Obviously, close up...

 

Dancer 2

I think it looks good.

 

01.35.44 José

Did you see it from the auditorium? It really finishes of the costume.  It looks much better with, but I want you to feel comfortable with it.

Of course, we know it's not you – it's a composition role. 

 

01.35.59 Dancer 1

I feel good in it. I don’t know about you?

 

Yup, yes

 

01.36.01 José

OK... OK... OK...

That's great then.

 

Diversity Committee, December 2023

 

01.36.06 José

The dancers said no problem, they feel good etc, and then a few days later, I heard that certain dancers didn't feel at ease and didn't dare say.

So what marked me the most was the discomfort they felt about saying they didn't want the fake bald heads.

I told them to agree by majority. If none of the three dancers had a problem with the fake bald head, then they would all wear it. Otherwise, it was the hair combed back, as we said in the last committee meeting.

So I think... there's a problem within the Ballet to talk about certain things. There are things they don't like, but they can't express it openly and simply.

 

01.36.52 Alexander

It's part of the learning process: for us, in how we run things; and for the artists, in how to express things. 

Because we also had a case – for those who saw Turandot – a case which poses questions and which we should discuss among the committee: In this production there was a black  soloist for the very first time.

The make-up for everybody was white Noh masks. And when the ballet was staged in Houston, they felt so scared about putting a white face on a Black artist that they decided not to do it.

 

01.37.31 Tania & Mariame

Just for him?

 

01.37.33 Alexander

Yes, just for him.

 

01.37.34 Martin

He was made up...

 

01.37.36 Alexander

Very made up!

 

01.37.37 Martin

Made up in black, reinforcing his skin color, with black gloves, which broke the unity between the three artists.

 

01.38.46 Tania

When I hear that a Black person has been made up to look maxi-black so everyone realizes he's Black, I think, "Wow, this person has spent hours studying and working to become the best singer, with a singular voice; and despite that, this person is told that the important thing is that everyone knows that he's Black..." I find that extremely violent and racist.

 

01.38.56 Mariame

Did you discuss it with the artist?

 

Alexander & Martin

 Yes Of course.

 

01.38.18 Alexander 

They said, "In Houston, that was our solution. I'm too scared to do it otherwise, or I won't be able to work anywhere, I'll be canceled."

 

01.38.27 Elisabeth

Blacklisted!

(haha!)

 

01.38.29 Mariame

The arrival of Black singers, where there were no Black singers before, should make us re-think lots of things that seemed evident, like "everyone is White." But in fact, there are people who aren't White. 

I immediately think, OK with Black and white, maybe it's time to look at what's visually interesting about not having everyone the same color, but having different skin tones.

So it should be something – and I mean this in very concrete terms – that encourages us to invent other ways of doing things.

 

Nutcracker ending

 

01.40.37 Sulivan

It's so beautiful.

I'd forgotten what a masterpiece it is.

It's incredible.

Honestly, it made me burst into tears. It's pure magic!

 

French Guiana, Market 

 

01.41.23 Dorothée

What time are you meeting them?

 

Guillaume

They're picking me up at half past noon.

 

01.41.28 Dorothée

Perfect..  Perfect timing! 

 

Guiana Radio Peyi

 

01.41.30 Journalist radio

Guillaume Diop, you immediately said yes when you were asked to come to French Guiana to tell youngsters here about your passion.

 

01.41.40 Guillaume

Since March 11th, there's been a lot of talk about being a symbol, a representative, and I wanted to be an active player in this representation, to meet people and maybe bring a passion out in them. But at least to be an active representative.  

Plus people think of the Opera as elite, which is true in that it demands a high level of excellence.

But I feel like a normal youngster: I talk normally;

 I don't wear a suit every day. So it's just as important to get out and talk to people, as it is for them to see us dance. 

 

01.42.20 Journalist radio

Myriam Mazouzi, do you also notice things changing? Are things heading in the right direction?  And is this project in French Guiana part of this favorable dynamic? 

 

01.42.23 Myriam

Yes, things are progressing, albeit slowly; because we're a very old institution and the heirs of a 19th-century repertoire, with the predominant ideas of the 19th century, of European domination, meaning White and male...

So what do we do with this repertoire? We can't burn it or change it, but directors and choreographers can exclude certain overtly racist things from the librettos, or the portrayals in ballet which to our eyes aren’t  appropriate. 

 

Guiana Questions-Answers

 

01.44.45 Girl 1

How does it feel, being the first Black danseur étoile at the Paris Opera? 

 

01.44.50 Guillaume

Wow!

 

01.44.51 Dorothée

Great question! 

 

01.44.58 Guillaume

How does it feel? It's great, but it's almost secondary. But regarding my personal fulfillment, what comes first is managing to become a danseur étoile. And then, being the first Black danseur étoile, is a wonderful responsibility. 

 

01.45.12 Girl 2

I have a question!  Why did you choose Guiana to put on your ballet?

 

01.45.20 Dorothée

That's a question for Myriam.

 

01.45.22 Myriam

I'd never come to Guiana; and there were some protests in December 2017,  and I thought it was high time that the Paris Opera came to see you and to share some moments with you. 

 

01.45.38 Girl 3

A question for Guillaume. How did your dad take it, you doing ballet, when there are a lot of dads who wouldn't like that?

 

01.45.50 Guillaume

Listen, it was pretty difficult with my dad, because before I started dancing, I did athletics and he was really involved in that with me. But after a while, I chose ballet, and my dad said it wasn't a career for boys, especially for mixed-race boys. And that really hurt and made me feel sad. But it also gave me a lot of strength, and it made me want to prove that I could become a danseur étoile, even if he didn't believe I could.

And today, he's really glad and really proud; and really proud that I proved him wrong. 

 

Sulivan conservatory

 

01.47.10 Sulivan

There's talk of it being a problem that there are more Whites in a classical orchestra.

But kids need to have a music-school culture, which isn't always the case. 

 

When I lived in the housing projects, not many kids studied music, so it's no surprise there aren't people of all different colors. So is this a problem with the orchestras, or is it rather a problem within society?

 

01.47.38 Sulivan and student

You need to tune it. It's like a shower: it doesn't matter if you don't take one ever day, but after a week you stink!.

The double-bass is the same: you mustn't play on a badly tuned instrument.

OK?

 

01.47.49

G... A... G... 

 

01.47.53 Sulivan

It's normal for a musician to pass things on.

All my teachers were in orchestras, and they passed things on.

Music isn't made for playing by yourself; music is something to be shared.

 

01.48.14 Sulivan and girl

OK, stop.

Not bad, but you need to put all your strength into your left hand, otherwise it won't work. 

 

01.48.24 Sulivan

Which is harder, the upbow or downbow? 

 

01.48.27 Mohammed

Upbow.

 

01.48.28 Sulivan

I know. But you did well. OK, next notes.

C, B, A, G... 

 

01.48.34 Mohammed

F....

 

01.48.35 Sulivan

OK, an F. But an F what?

You told me earlier...

It sounds like nature, but it's something else.

 

01.48.44 Mohammed

Naturalist?

 

01.48.45 Sulivan

No naturalist. It's "natural"!

Next note.

Upbow this time. 

01.48.45

Yes! It's hard, isn't it?

I heard the F-natural, but also an A with it.  Never mind, the upbow is really hard.

But it wasn't bad, you're working hard.  

 

Sulivan, overseas talent

 

01.49.07 Presenter

A graduate of the French National Music & Dance Conservatory, with a diploma in musicology, she was selected in 2023 to join the Paris Opera orchestra. 

An exceptional talent who does overseas France proud: Sulivan Loiseau!

Thank you for being here, and well done to you! 

 

Rehearsal - Manon no locks

 

01.50.23 Amandine

You said the hair was a bit poodle?

 

01.50.27 Agnès

Too poodle, the tight curls. 

 

01.50.29 Amandine

I told him I looked a bit poodle-ish. 

 

01.50.32 Agnès

So bigger curls.

Not tight little ones... 

01.50.36

From distance, it looks like lots of partings.

01.50.40

We need proper cornrows. And more than one or two

 

Guillaume and cornrows – Nadine

 

01.51.04 Nadine

The magic behind good cornrows is to have good partings. Because if the partings are wonky...

 

01.51.19 Guillaume

It's the first time someone will dance with cornrows in a classical ballet at the Paris Opera.

 

01.51.22 Nadine

No way! That's so cool!

You're breaking all the codes!!

 

01.51.27 Guillaume

I guess.

 

01.51.30 Nadine

Awesome.

 

01.51.33 Guillaume

They validated them.

 

01.51.35 Nadine

Yeah?

 

01.51.35 Guillaume

Yeah.

 

01.51.36 Nadine

You showed them the ones I did for you before?

Amazing! Who's the best?

 

01.51.41 Guillaume

Big-time!

 

01.51.44 Nadine

I do hairdressing shows sometimes.

 

01.51.46 Guillaume

Great.

 

01.51.47 Nadine

I tell the history of African queens... talk about their hairstyles, the meaning behind them... why people had certain hairstyles, depending on ethnic groups, etc.

 

01.51.59 Guillaume

What's the history behind cornrows?

 

01.52.00 Nadine

In fact...

 

01.52.00 Guillaume

Like for going to war?

 

01.52.02 Nadine

Exactly. Warriors... they did their hair like this.

And in some ethnic groups, those who did their hair like this down to the back were often widows.

 

01.52.15 Guillaume

That makes sense with the ballet I'm doing.

I play a knight; not a wife who has lost her husband, but a knight who has lost his damsel.

 

01.52.24 Nadine

OK, right, it does make sense.

 

01.52.27 Guillaume

I'll tell them that, if they hassle me.

 

01.52.35 Nadine

My cornrows at the Paris Opera! I never thought that would happen one day!

The road is long, but we're getting there.

Bit by bit.

 

01.52.50 Guillaume

Whenever you do something new, it's not easy.

Because this is a famous classical ballet that's set in Paris at the time of the French Regency.

So me dancing the role is already a statement.

Because I'm sure that back then there wasn't a Black Chevalier Des Grieux, as he's called.

But I've gotten the green light from everybone. It wasn't required, but I needed it.

It did me good.

So I'm really happy and proud to wear my cornrows tomorrow. Nadine's cornrows... at the Opera!

I think it's important, because being a symbol is that, too.

Yeah, I’m a danseur étoile but I don't need to smooth my hair to dance at the Opera. 

01.53.54

But I don't want it be like a political statement.

 

01.53.58 Nadine

But it will be.

 

01.54.00 Guillaume

Do you know what I mean?

I want it to be normal.

I think things can have more impact when you don't make a big thing of them.

 

01.54.09 Nadine

I think it has a lot to do with our image after colonization, or even during colonization.

They cut our hair to rid us of our identity.

They said our hair wasn't beautiful and smoothed it. Things like that have stayed with us.

Black people still say, "My hair's not beautiful." So we need to work on ourselves; to accept ourselves and our hair, so that others can accept it too.

 

Guillaume Make-up 

 

01.54.52 Guillaume

How you doing?

 

01.54.53 Make-up artist

Good and you?

 

01.54.54 Guillaume

Good!

 

01.54.58 make up artist

You're handsome!

So that's the final choice?

 

01.55.01 Guillaume

Yep, this is it.

 

01.55.02 Make-up artist

I love it!

It looks so good!

 

01.55.05 Guillaume

Thanks.

 

Show

 

01.55.31 Guillaume

I want the Opera to be a welcoming place, where when people come as spectators, they see its not reserved for a certain social class; its a place for entertainment, where you feel good, you can dream, and escape from daily life for a while.

 

01.55.58

One year after my appointment, I feel fulfilled. I feel like I'm starting to fully assume my role.

I've finally realized that the notion of being a symbol and a role model is real and very important. To live it, to see it, to meet kids that I've somehow inspired is really powerful and very moving. 

 

Guillaume, cornrows after the show 

 

01.56.44 Elisabeth

Bravo, it was wonderful.

I was next to your family! 

 

01.56.47 Guillaume

You were?.

01.56.51

How did you get back here?

 

01.56.55

You good?

 

01.56.59

How're you, sis?

 

01.57.01 Juliette

It was great!

 

01.57.03 Guillaume

Thanks!

 

Dad - good work

 

01.57.09 Guillaume

You good?

 

01.57.10 Fari

Good and you?

Congratulations!

 

01.57.13 Woman (English)

Congratulations.

It was beautiful! So beautiful

 

01.57.20 Fari

It was really, really impressive!

 

01.57.24 Fari

I didn't know there was so much acting in it. It's the first time I've seen a ballet.

 

01.57.27 Guillaume

Oh Yeah?!

 

thats great

 

01.57.30 Fari

It's really impressive. I didn't see the time go by. I thought it would be drawn out, but it went so quickly... 

 

01.51.51 Sulivan