Comme les oiseaux

Gracile and light as a bird, an apparition, dressed in diaphanous white veils, appears on the rooftops of the Opéra Garnier, with a white dove as her companion. A voice calls her to the stage. Another voice, that of Violette Verdy, a dance teacher, addresses her with the admiration of the one whose expectations have been met. This is how we spectators learn that the floating creature is none other than Monique Loudières, one of the Etoile dancers of the Paris Opera, and Violette's former pupil. The ghost then takes flesh, but only to some extent such is the way Monique Loudières defies gravity. From then on she will be seen rehearsing great roles in scenes from famous ballets with partners of the stature of Patrick Dupond and Manuel Legris, either under the benevolent guidance of great elders who pass on their knowledge (Yvette Chauviré, Violette Verdy) or of international masters of contemporary choreography (Jerome Robbins, Jiri Kylian...) Attentive, concentrated, in love with perfection, we see her integrate the gestures, positions and movements they indicate only to replicate them in the moment in the inspired way that make her their ideal interpreter. In the end, the ballerina and the dove become unsubstantial again and vanish in the realm of the stars where they belong. —Guy Bellinger