這個升等考試(Concours)是由瑪莉耶・塔格里歐妮(Marie Taglioni)在1860年創立，從那時候起，這個升等考試就一直存在於舞團的運作中，是一項擁有斯巴達般嚴格名聲的考試。
巴黎國家歌劇院芭蕾舞蹈團(Ballet de l'Opéra national de Paris, 一般英譯為 Paris Opera Ballet如這篇紐約時報的報導，或 Opera Ballet of Paris)把舞者分成五級：明星(étoile，就相當於一般所稱的芭蕾名伶ballerina或dansuer)、首席舞者(premier danseur)、主舞者(sujet)、獨舞者(coryphée)、群舞者(quadrille)。(在網路上也找不到舞者分級的翻譯，所以如果譯得不妥，還請不吝指正。)舞者的敘薪與角色都是依等級排名而訂，而舞者一直到42歲強制退休的年紀前享有保障的薪資。
在法國以考試或比賽的方式來選出精英，這種作法普遍存在於各個行業中。對舞者而言，這也是個必須要面對的課題，畢竟緊張、壓力、身體狀況的調適、... 等會影響考是表現的因素，也是舞者生涯必須要不斷面對的。
Photographs by Sébastien MathéBy ROSLYN SULCAS
Published: December 4, 2009
PARISTHE stage of the Palais Garnier is bare and bright. Eleven people sit at a table in the empty orchestra section, frowning at their notebooks. A tinkling bell sounds, and an announcer appears onstage and formally introduces a dancer. For three minutes or so she plows through the technical minefields of the obligatory variation and finishes, smiling brightly. There is no applause. A few seconds’ silence and the bell rings again.The annual Concours at the Paris Opera Ballet is not for the faint of heart. In this company, one of the world’s leading classical dance troupes, it’s not enough to be talented. It’s not enough to be consistently cast in soloist or leading roles, or chosen by visiting choreographers. It is not enough to be adored by audiences or find special favor with the artistic staff.That’s because, unlike any other ballet company in the world, the Opera has a hierarchy and system of promotion almost military in its Spartan exactitude. In order to be promoted a dancer must enter the annual Concours, or promotional competition, and perform two variations (one set, one “free”) before an 11-member jury made up of fellow company members, Opera officials and two outside judges (this year the choreographer Pierre Lacotte and Igor Zelensky, director of the Novosibirsk Ballet).The competition has existed at the Opera in one form or another since 1860, instituted by Marie Taglioni as an obligatory exam to maintain standards. (Only in the 1970s did participation become voluntary for the company’s 154 dancers, roughly half of whom take part.) The most recent competition was two weeks ago, and it offered the same spectacle of ambition, hope and despair that plays out every year.The jury’s rankings determine who is promoted into the few places available in each grade: after the entry level quadrille come coryphée, sujet and premier danseur. Once dancers join the Opera, a state-supported company, they have little incentive to abandon a guaranteed salary until the mandatory retirement age of 42, and a pension thereafter. (This year the coveted top spots went to Ludmila Pagliero, Josua Hoffalt and Vincent Chaillet.)
quadrille A square dance of French origin composed of five sections and performed by four couples.
sujet literally means subject or topic. The "sujet" title is given to the dancer who reached the third level in the hierarchy of the Opera Ballet of Paris (Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris), after star and principal dancer and before corypheus and quadrille.The only rank not possible to acquire through competition is the elusive étoile, or star. The title is mostly given to premier dancers, but not always.Most dancers, however, depend on the competition both for improvements in their salaries (roughly a 15 percent gain with each grade) and better roles, since casting is determined largely by rank.It’s a grueling system. Injury, illness, nerves or just a bad day can derail a career for a whole year, or longer. The dancers find themselves judged by, and pitted against, friends and colleagues, with whom they will soon — perhaps that very night — dance onstage. But the competition is regarded favorably by the dancers, said Ariane Dollfus, a writer for Danser magazine.“We are a nation of competitions,” Ms. Dollfus said. “The idea that excellence is recognized through an exam or competition is prevalent in every walk of French life. There are competitions to get into the grandes écoles, for administrative jobs, for architects, for civil servants. It’s very French. We have more confidence in a formal, official structure than in something that seems like an arbitrary decision.”To non-French ears, the idea of the competition as a democratic procedure can sound strange. Can’t wonderful artists who may not be technical virtuosos be overlooked? Surely the personal likes and dislikes of the five company members who make up half the jury can influence the outcome?“There are some dancers who aren’t competition animals,” said Brigitte Lefèvre, director of dance at the Opera, looking somewhat weary after the first rounds. “Sometimes that has serious consequences. If you don’t pull off your pirouettes, your balances, at least there are a group of insiders on the jury who know what you can do and take that into account.”pirouette a body spin, esp in dancing, on the toes or the ball of the foot
Ms. Lefèvre acknowledged that the competition is psychologically grueling for the dancers, who work on their solos for months while also rehearsing and performing a changing repertory. (Ms. Lefèvre and the ballet master Patrice Bart choose the set variations each year.)“It’s brutal on the day of the competition,” she said. “There is so much at stake. There are always tears, always dancers coming to see me after to discuss. I tell them, and I believe, that over the course of a career talent finds its way. And after all, nerves and tests are something dancers have to face in the course of their onstage lives.”For dancers of clearly outstanding promise the competition is probably no more than routine. Agnès Letestu, Dorothée Gilbert and Mathias Heymann are just a few of the current étoiles who shot through the ranks in short order. But for others the path can be harder. Isabelle Ciaravola, recently named an étoile, had to endure 11 rounds of the competition before finally being promoted to première danseuse in 2003.“For me, doing the competition has nothing to do with the joy of dancing,” Ms. Ciaravola said in a telephone conversation. “Your life, your career is at stake for four minutes. You need nerves of steel.”But even Ms. Ciaravola spoke positively of the competition, pointing out that it is a chance for corps de ballet dancers to be noticed, and that it motivates dancers who have permanent jobs to keep working hard.“It’s an amazingly stressful system, but it’s just normal for them,” said David Hallberg, an American Ballet Theater principal dancer who spent a year in the final division at the Paris Opera Ballet school, watching his fellow students prepare for the entrance exam to the company. “Not only do the dancers not question the system, they are proud of it. It’s part of their institution, their tradition. In France, that counts for a lot.”http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/arts/dance/06concours.html?ref=dance
The story was taken from The New York Times. The copyright belongs to The New York Times Company. The author and The New York Times are not involved with, nor endorse the production of this blog.
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