When Norway makes me
dance text: Ophélie teneau | foto: privat
My name is Ophélie. I’m 21 years old and I’m an exchange student from France. I’m going to stay in Norway for the whole year. It sounds like a fabulous, amazing experience right? But do you want to know the first thing I thought when I knew that I was going to live one year abroad? Could I still dance here in Norway? Indeed, I have been practicing ballet since I was 6 years old. To be honest, I started doing ballet because originally I dreamed of ice-skating. That’s why I slipped on my first ballet shoes and I never removed them since. Going to the national competition – the dream comes true Every year my ballet teacher enrolled us for a dance competition organized in different locations around France. You must present a choreography imposed on stage according to your level and your age in front of four professional dancers and a public, which do not have the right to applaud so as not influence the jury – very confusing the first time. This competition is really hard because a lot of criteria are taken into account and the most important but also the most difficult thing is to be out of the ordinary. It took me a while to understand what it meant, but now I think I know part of the secret: Dance with your heart and show that nothing is impossible if you believe in it. One of my biggest dreams was to go to the national competition at least once in my life. I started these competitions in 2002. I worked very hard to achieve this dream, every year the disappointment becoming more and more important because I could not manage to do it. And finally, in 2009, I made it. I got the grade of 16/20 and I went to the national competition 2 months after in Biarritz. Performing la Sylphide as the main character – the most incredible experience of my life In 2011, I experienced the most beautiful moment of my life. My ballet teachers wanted to stage a little part of a really famous ballet – Sylphide. “La Sylphide tells the story of a young Scottish man, James, in love with Sylphide, a being that only he can see…” All the ballet students of the school were involved in the spectacle and we even had the help of a former dancer from the Opéra de Paris, which is one of the most famous ballet schools in the world! My teachers have decided to reward me for the hard work I had done throughout the past years and I had the honor to be chosen to play the main role of the ballet. I was so proud and so glad to do it. It took us around six months to prepare the show and we danced it 4 times – 3 times in front of the parents in the show of the end of the year. The 4th time was a bit special. When the ballet starts you can see James
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when norway makes me dance
sleeping in an armchair and Sylphide is hidden behind it. I think that I could remember forever this moment. I straightened and I appeared in front of the public. I could saw all those eyes watching me. Everything depended on me and I don’t know how to explain it but at that moment I was not really myself anymore I was the character. I was Sylphide and I started to dance. It was the most incredible and the most magical moment I’ve ever lived. The show was really successful; we heard a lot of good things about our performance. I really think that a dancer lives for the public above all and if the public likes the performance then the dancer did his job properly. I did it and I will never forget about it. Since that, I really think that my way of dancing has really changed. … and here I am dancing in Norway Since I’m in Norway, I have started to dance at Sharron’s Dansestudio. It is a really huge school and it’s one of the biggest studios I have ever danced! The funny thing is that… the whole course is in Norwegian (and I do not speak Norwegian, but I try to learn it)! So what could be funnier than spending one hour and a half three or four times a week and understanding nothing? Yes I’m exaggerating a little bit: fortunately for me some steps names are in French and I have just to watch the steps to know what I have to do. And I could not complain about it because I love too much dancing to do it. Besides, the ballet teacher is really great and the other Norwegian students are so nice to me because they do not hesitate to help me and translate what I do not understand. Every year, the teacher has decided to make her students performing a dance show. This year is a bit special because she has decided to make us rehearsing the Nutcracker - which is a very famous ballet. This is a frame of the story: “On Christmas night, Clara receives from his uncle a nutcracker. During the night, a wonderful enchantment begins: in the living room, the toys come to life and the Nutcracker turns into a prince...” I’m very glad because the teacher gave me a little part in the ballet: I will be one of the three Spanish dancers and I will be almost every time on stage with the rest of the group. We will perform it at Kilden on the 14th and the 15th of November at 18:00 both days. So hurry up and buy your ticket people, I will be very happy to show you how a ballet is magical and beautiful... If you want to buy tickets for the show: http://www.kilden.com/arrangement/ notteknekkeren