Natalie's Short Ballet Stint (Watch Etoile!)

So, okay, when Natalie was like 5 I put her in ballet. 

Beginning Ballet.

I think it might have been inspired by all the episodes of Dance Moms I watched. I thought, you know, she could be Maddie. She could do the Maddie face. 

Plus she liked to do ballet moves around the house. Probably because she also watched Dance Moms. 

"She's LOUD," Natalie once observed, pointing at Abby Lee Miller. 

Anyhow, when I asked if she wanted to try ballet she said yes and then did random somersaults around the room.

She was a hyper kid. But she did seem to like ballet.

So how did she do in class? 

Well. 

She did act silly in class a lot. But, I mean, it was beginning ballet. And there was a point where she put a cone on her head when she was meant to jump over it. She was pleased with herself for that one.

I do not think she had the personality for ballet. You need to be somewhat serious, and well, Natalie was not. We laugh at farts and she gets distracted easily. (It's why she only did softball for a season. She'd get distracted by bugs in the outfield. The ball would go rolling past and she'd be like, wow, cool, ANTS!)

Oh, and there was one time where I had to put her in the recital costume and take her for class pictures and she was PISSED with a P. 

(She loved the costume though. She was just not in the mood to go down for pictures.)

She eventually did. Maybe I bribed her with chocolate or an extra episode of Yo Gabba Gabba? I don't know. I think I paid $25 for this. 

Natalie was the only one in the class who got a trophy for top student, but when I asked if she wanted to do ballet again, she told me, "No." Well, first she said yes, because she did love the costume as we tend to be attracted to sparkly and glittery things (she still owns it), but when I reminded her she had to take the class seriously and not do random hand stands when the teacher wanted to go over dance positions, she was like, oh, well crap, pass. 

There's no video or photos from her recital, because you weren't allowed to film. If you wanted the privilege of owning the 2 minute dance, you had to pay like $100 for the DVD which would include all the other numbers in the recital and, well, no. I found out quickly how expensive dance was. From the costume fees, to the recital fees (I have to PAY to watch my kid perform??), to the monthly tuition, if my kid didn't love it, then no, I was not going to force her to do it.

Anyhow, the reason I'm talking about her short lived dance era is because there's a new show called Etoile. That means star in French. (Sorry I can't add the symbol over Etoile properly.)

Photo by Philippe Antonello for Prime Video

It's from Amy Sherman-Palladino and if that name sounds familiar, it should. She's the creator of Gilmore Girls, Bunheads (I'm still pissed it was canceled after one season),  and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Apparently Amy could have become a professional dancer but choose network television instead (great choice!) so she understands the world of ballet. 

Etoile is about two ballet companies: one is in NYC and the other is in Paris. Both are struggling. So the heads of each decide to exchange top dancers to see if it'll help. Gilmore Girls fans will spot familiar faces: Kelly Bishop (Mrs. Gilmore) is set to guest start and Yanic Truesdale (Michel from Gilmore Girls) is a French ballet administrator. Luke Kirby, a favorite in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, plays Jack. 

With Amy's writing, I know I will laugh and cry. 

Vanity Fair wrote up a wonderful piece about Etoile if you need more details.

It premieres April 24th on Prime Video and I cannot wait to watch. Check out the preview:

 

I'll watch and marvel at the dedication of the ballet dancers. And I'll look back with fondness on Natalie's brief stint as a dancer.