In
1713, Louis XIV promulgated the decree that officially created the «
Ballet Conservatoire » reserved for the Royal Academy of Music. This
structure institutionalizes the existence of classes for
professionals, similar to those now enjoyed by the Corps de Ballet,
as at first classes were not at all intended for children, although
some artists’ sons or daughters found their places there.
It was
not until 1780 that the first regulations certified a school devoted
entirely to them, thus endorsing a use appeared over time. It was
also necessary to clarify essential issues: free tuition as Louis XIV
originally imposed it, admission through selection, fees and
salaries, and a professional frame to the education.
In
1784, a second decree of Louis XVI extends the duration of classes
and created a special class for children under twelve. It is indeed
better to recruit students at a very young age, devoid of any
training and, therefore of any flaw to correct. Thereafter, the
French Revolution and the Empire do not challenge the school but
refine the functioning with a series of successive regulations. In
particular, to ensure impartiality and to avoid possible protections,
a jury from the company is formed, sovereign during the passing from
one class to another as well as for the hiring into the company.
Teaching
is done in three steps, an elementary school until thirteen, the
upper class until sixteen, then, for a few, the “special class for
improvements”, foreshadowing the “advanced class” that Marie
Taglioni managed to implement under the Third Republic. Students may
not remain in the upper class more than one year and no more than two
years in the “special class” preceding theirs debuts. They should
not stay at School after they are eighteen, when they must at least
start their careers. It may happen that they are excluded, masters
having orders to take this measure to “maintain zeal and emulation
(among students)”, two of Napoleon’s dearest values. For the same
reasons, rankings were also introduced and are still in effect today,
as for the age limit in the First Division, still eighteen, and the
examination juries.
While
this school was a model for Europe, at the end of the Romantic
period, it withered. If it survived, it was thanks to personalities’s
flawless faith Marie Taglioni, Dominique, Rosita Mauri, Carlotta
Zambelli and Albert Aveline among others. Generation after
generation, despite the neglect of successive directions of the Paris
Opera, despite the financial abandonment of government, all sought to
preserve the soul of this style, which went back to the founding of
the Royal Academy of Dance by Louis XIV in 1661.
Initially
located rue Saint-Nicaise, then in the Palais Garnier, the school is
now located in Nanterre.
This move was made necessary when the
duration of compulsory education was set at 16 years, the "Petits
rats", until now apprentices implicitly became students. By the
1960s, the direction of the Opera started to think about necessary
solutions. Under the direction of Claude Bessy, the school invests
the building of Christian de Portzamparc in 1987, where children,
like all those of their generation can take up baccalaureate studies
alongside their vocational training.
The nowadays Ballet School was born with Claude Bessy, Director from 1972 to 2004, who gave it its educational autonomy with its installation in Nanterre. Keeping the pattern she built bringing together tradition and vision for the future, Elisabeth Platel then brought her own scent by emphasizing on stylistic virtuosity. The School must enroll artists with outstanding physical abilities and try to instill a common breathing whilst preserving individuality. In 2004, a specific medical supervision was established to ensure the physical preparation and the becoming of future dancers. For more than 300 years, the artistic education at the Opera favored direct transmission from master to student, guarantying the French School of Ballet and ensuring the sustainability of the Paris Opera Ballet. The School – still called School of the Paris Opera Ballet not long ago – is closely linked to it thanks to its structure but also to its programming. Meanwhile, the Ballet School of the Opéra national de Paris must comply with the Ministry of National Education and the relationship with the team in charge of general education, hosted within the School since 1987, has been strengthened through joint educational projects between the artistic and intellectual training. At the end of the curriculum, the students leave the School with the Higher professional Diploma for Dancers and the baccalaureate in literature.