While the new Prime series ”Star“Is, in its core, a workplace comedy, the world of professional ballet is not just a background. Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino Indieview told their goal was to capture the elite level of artistry that was performed at institutions such as the New York City Ballet, and not just in small five seconds of excerpts. There is a huge amount of dance in season 1. In total, according to Amazon, there are 29 different ballets performed in the first eight sections (a full list is at the bottom of this article), with staged performances that lasted up to three minutes on the screen.
The 29 ballets arranged for Season 1 are a mix of the classics – similar to what is regularly performed at institutions such as Lincoln Center – and original pieces, most of which are fictional choreographer Tobias Bell (Gideon Glick) and created by “”Star“Choreographer Marguerite Derricks.
Derricks, producer Dhana Gilbert, Production designer Bill GroomAnd Sherman-Palladino took IndieWire in the process of restoring the classics and creating Tobia’s advanced original.
Restore the classics
Palladinos are eager ballet guests, and when they wrote “étoile” they chose classic ballets based on the needs of their history. For example, in section 1, when he introduced the nature of Cheyenne Toussaint (Lou de Laâge), invoiced as the world’s most famous dancer, choreographer Kenneth Macmillan’s royal ballet production by Sergei Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” was their only and only choice.
“That’s how the Cheyenne character would dance-the type of free and powerful, and always in motion and never stop,” Sherman-Palladino said about the choice of “Romeo and Juliet” for section 1. “The first time we really see her dance, that’s how we needed it to look. So there is only one piece that is shining.”
But as producer Dhana Gilbert explained to IndieWire, every established ballet, such as Macmillan’s “Romeo and Juliet”, must be licensed.
“I had to go to Macmillan’s widow and bent my knee,” Sherman-Palladino joked. “There is a lot of inheritance, you have to do it right. They protect art.”
Licensing of the classic ballets was only step one, because “Protecting the Art” came with several arches for the “Étoile” team to jump through.
“When we used an actual established ballet, such as” Romeo and Juliet “, we had to go through the process of getting a dance master to come in and work with our company. lighting designers to light the show in the way it would normally be done. “
Derricks said that every classical ballet required a deep historical dive, and in some cases, because the original choreographer had long ago passed away, the Amazon series could Have escaped to recreate their own version without restrictions. But the “étoile” choreographer preferred to rely on the contribution from every ballet dancer.
“It was so much for me to choreograph during the season in, when I looked at the originals, I was like,” Let’s let these classics stand, “said Derricks.” There is so much dance in the show, and there is such a nice variety that I wanted the classics to be shown in the way they originally choreographed. ”
While Gilbert indicated that there was an extra layer of coordination (and time) required to balance the original ballet’s inheritance with each department manager’s need to ensure the series’ appearance, production designer Bill Groom, such as Derricks, embraced leaning in the established classic productions.
“Early on,” Well, if I can use existing ballet productions (sets) it would make sense only from production and practical point of view, “said Groom.” ‘La Bayadere’ was the first one I tried to find out how I would solve that problem, and I just sat down on the computer and wrote in ‘la bayader. Spices during the war.
‘Sylvia’ and ‘tied to’
While most of the established ballets were well -known classics written in the script by Palladinos and left untouched by Derricks, there were exceptions. For Mishis (Taïs Vinolo) dance solo in section 7, where she has a bow and arrow, Derricks recommended that they adapted “Sylvia.”
“The girls have been bullied by Mishi for so long and when the curtain comes down she gets this standing ovation, and she is like,” in your face, “said Derricks.” She finally has this moment to come out and I found this ballet, “Sylvia.” It is not danced as often as ‘Giselle’ and ‘Swan Lake’ Wanted to do it right for the story. “
In addition to the fictional Tobias, the other modern choreographer that looks like in “Étoile” is the very real Christopher Wheeldon, who plays itself when the fictional company archives its “tied to”, which captures Cheyenne’s relationship with Gael (David Alvarez), which she chooses to become her new dance partner.
“We are huge fans of Christopher Wheeldon, so we used his” tied up “because it felt like the thing (Cheyenne) would choose Gael (David Alvarez) to be her partner,” Sherman-Palladino said. “It’s a whole partner bit, it’s a lot of confidence, it’s a lot of lifts, very close movements. It’s something you need a partner that you really gel to (perform), and that was the story that we did.”
‘Piece 1’ and Tobias Bell Originals
“The hardest thing to create is what Tobia’s style would be, and that was something Marguerite worked with a lot, very early,” Sherman-Palladino said. “She has been our secret weapon for a while – imaginative, smart and understands history, camera and the whole process, and then this was a chance for her to create a whole style for a character, which would be the key to the story.”
Tobias Dance is an expression of his character, and so much of the season 1 -site – including why someone tolerates his unorthodox ways and process – was because he was an exciting new voice in choreography. It was a challenge that Derrick’s embraced, but she also felt a deep connection to the character.
“When he reads the scripts, he is such a snappy guy, but so many of his properties I embody,” Derricks said. “His having to have a certain pillow, I tried eight pillows in New York before settling on one, so when I read that I was” oh my good, I’m the female Tobias. “” Derricks also spent a lot of time with comedian Gideon Glick, who plays Bell and followed the “Étoile” choreographer around while she created dances. “I think Gideon got a kick me out, I get a kick him out and we together have become Tobias.”
From reading the script, Derrick’s Tobia’s choreography saw Edgier, sometimes strange, but also sexy. She wanted it to have a clear jazz influence, the choreographer referred to Tobia’s work as “Jazzerina.” Derricks had also spent two years with the new generation choreographers who drive ballet forward. While most articles on “étoile” pull the direct parallel between Tobias and choreographer Justin PeckAn influence Derricks does not deny, Peck is part of a major movement that she tried to exploit with Tobias.
“Justin Peck is a type of young, hot choreographer at the New York City Ballet, but there are some also European guy-haired fantastic, creative, out-the-box choreography out there,” Derricks said. “So if I didn’t press the envelope with Tobias, I think I would make a big mistake.”
Locked in his apartment in Paris for an extended Easter holiday break, Derricks listened to the same piece of music when repetition to dream of the choreography of what will be Tobias “Piece One.” The picture Derricks continued to play in the head was how American dancers and choreographer Twyla Tharp once made her dancers slip on her toes and knew she wanted to build “bit a” around it.
“” Piece One “is just incredible,” Sherman-Palladino said, indicating that it was the moment the series began to gather. “It really says everything you need to know about Tobias and it allowed us that, in scenes, talk about him as this type of boy genius, and a kind of annoying person who everyone posts because of what he can create and where he is going.”
Original dances choreographed by Derricks for Tobias Bell:
“Piece 1”
“Taiko”
“Growing pressure”
“Piece 2”
“Whatever this is”
Other original work choreographed by Derricks:
“Tobias Crossing Street”
“Tarantella”
“Big in Japan”
“Final”
“Justification”
Nicholas’ Ballet 1989
Classic ballets recreated for season 1:
“Romeo and Juliet”
“Don Quixote”
“Sleeping Beauty” (two different pieces)
“Coppelia”
“Giselle”
“Swan Lake” (both “White Swan” and “Black Swan”)
“Le Corsaire”
“La Bayadere”
“The Nutcracker” (three different pieces)
“Raymond”
“Sylvia”
“Bound to”
