Danse Etoile (DE) is the ballet school where I dance at. I originally wrote this article here for the DE magazine that Marie-Jose published in June 2024 for the dancer families, but I hope it’s a useful reading for others who are on the web here as well.
Photos are of the Little Mermaid ballet where I danced the role of the Prince.
Danse Etoile (DE) is very special to me because I know that it is not about me: it is about us. There is so much other work that I can spend my time on throughout the week, and I spend my time on engineering and other tasks when I’m not at the studio. However, there is absolutely nothing that I can do that is as important as the people whom I am with. DE involves people in three ways: first, by the influence that everyone has on everyone else; second, by the audience satisfaction that arises from this; and third, by the collective strength that we have when we’re together.
In any group scenario, such as a dance studio, the people have an influence on each other, whether that influence be good or bad. I am a person of faith, and I believe that God placed me into this world to love and to positively influence other people as well as to learn from other people. I believe this to be my purpose in life. With that in mind, DE allows me to live out my life purpose not only by doing whatever I can to make other dancers happy when I’m in class but also by dancing the best I can to make the audience happy when I’m on stage. Likewise, everyone in class influences me in positive ways as well, and this makes DE a very special place.
Secondly, audience satisfaction at DE is really important. If one watches a DE performance, there is no doubt about the arduous work that went into the show. But it’s not even about appreciating the arduous work: it’s about the dancers giving the audience a gift, a performance, a good time. It’s about us doing our best job for ourselves and for the audience. My first time watching a DE performance was the Wizard of Oz, and I was blown away by the performance. Not only did all the dancers do an excellent job, but also they were all deeply situated in their roles, filled with emotion, and they made the story feel very real to me. It felt as though I was right there in the scene with them. I felt very happy. They gave me a good time. This experience influenced me in such a way that I wanted to work hard and to be a part of these performances.
Finally, dancing together at DE, we are collectively stronger than if we were each alone doing our own separate tasks. When we do the plank and other challenging exercises in class, it’s tough, but we’re all in it together, and that makes us achieve more. Studying with Marie-Jose in class every day, I’ve improved so much. And aside from just improving, all of us are simply much happier when we all work together. Working with these people, I want all of them to succeed, and everyone wants me to succeed, and that makes us a strong company where we can feel like we belong. I am very blessed to be dancing with this wonderful group of people.
Picture credit: Dominique Payannet, 2024. “Sailors” scene in the ballet: Little Mermaid.
Note on history: just as I joined the ballet school, DE performed the Wizard of Oz show in January 2023, which I was not a part of because I had just joined. I was in the audience for that show.