Ballet Gala brings back magic of dance to Dubai

As a ballet dancer, Ludmila Pagliero is reminded every day of the importance of living in the moment. In a profession where health and youth are as important as your grace and confidence, she says the idea that it’s not all going to last forever is more present in her profession.

“Time passes by very fast because we start so young,” says the 31-year-old Argentinian. “And you know you have to make the most of it because before you know it, it will be the beginning of the end.

“You have to take care of yourself. There are so many new younger people coming in every day. And you have to grab every opportunity you can, whether it’s to dance with a new choreographer or to travel to a new place, otherwise it may never come back.”

This week, Pagliero has taken the opportunity to come to Dubai, something she has never done before, to perform with 11 other soloists at the second Ballet Gala. Featuring excerpts from the repertoire of Paris Opera Ballet, four performances will be held at the Madinat Theatre, from January 8 to 10, with two performances on Friday, January 9.

But Pagliero is no ordinary ballerina. She is an etoile dancer, the highest ranked a dancer can rise to at the Paris Opera Ballet, one of the world’s oldest ballet companies — and she’s the first non-European to earn that title.

She says she jumped on the opportunity to take the dance form to places where they are not so popular “to spread the word” about its beauty.

“They are going to see something different because here they don’t have the opportunity to see it often,” she says. “For the duration of the show, they are going to forget all their troubles and travel somewhere else, and laugh or cry.

“They are going to have the opportunity to see a live performance that is, say, different from going to a cinema. They’re going to feel the breath of the dancers, the muscles of the dancers, the artistry. It’s another way to exchange emotions, and that’s what we want to do.”

Pagliero will be paired with Karl Paquette, another etoile dancer, who performed last year at the first Ballet Gala in Dubai.

“It’s something new for Dubai, something that you can’t find at home sitting in front of the TV,” says the 38-year-old Frenchman. “So we’re really happy to come back.”

For a generation obsessed with pop culture, this will be an education of sorts, says organiser Reiko M Cheong, an ex ballet soloist, who is also the founder and director of the Dubai Dance Academy.

“After the response we received last year, we had to bring it back,” she says. “For me it’s about introducing the beauty of ballet to Dubai and the region. I really want to open up the door, to get the people to understand, and love, ballet. That’s my aim.

“And who better to do that than to bring the best of the best. The Paris Opera Ballet has 300 years of history, and the people from there have been keeping the beauty and heritage of ballet alive all these years.”

Etoile dancers Pagliero and Paquette will close the first part of the Dubai show with an interpretation of the Pas de Deux (dance duet) from Cinderella. Other performances include ‘Grand Pas Classique by Gvovski’ soloists Hannah O’Neill and Jeremy Loup Quer, who won the silver and bronze medals respectively at the Varna International Ballet Competition last year,

The etoile dancers, Ludmila Pagliero and Karl Paquette will close the first part with an exclusive interpretation of the Pas de Deux from Cinderella, in the exceptional version of Nureyev, who was Creative Director of the Paris Opera National Ballet from 1983 to 1988. All costumes have been loaned by the Paris Opera Gallery.

“I really hope young people will come and see it, especially boys,” says Paquette, who started dancing at the age of eight. “We need more boys in ballet and they need to know that it’s not all about tutus. There are parts for everyone.”

WHO IS AN ETOILE DANCER?

An etoile dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet is the highest ranked and most coveted position for a dancer at the company.

Ludmila Pagliero, an etoile dancer, says not everyone can become one.

“It’s different at the Paris Opera Ballet from other companies. In other places, you can become a principal dancer directly if you have your perform at your audition well. But at the Paris Opera Ballet, everyone starts from the bottom,” she explains. “So you really have to earn your place.

“When you join, there are three basic levels: the quadrilles are the dancers at the back, the coryphees are in the middle and the sujets are the ones in the front line. And then the premiers danseur or the first dancer. For all these parts, you have to write an exam every year to grow through the levels. But there is no exam to be an etoile dancer. Once you’ve reached first dancer stage, you have to be nominated by a committee of theatre director and the director of the Paris Opera Ballet to be an etoile dancer. So yes, you could be a first dancer all your life.”