Étoile is about two world-famous ballet companies that join forces to put ballet back on the map. Years ago I watched Gilmore Girls every week. When I heard that the creators of this series, Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Daniel Palladino, had made a new series, my curiosity was aroused. Besides, if you like dance, this must be the ultimate series.
The story takes place in the world of ballet. Two world-famous ballet companies, based in Paris and London, find their popularity declining. In order to save the institutions, they exchange their most talented dancers with each other, hoping that the public will become interested again.
Feel good factor is high
The series starts at a ballet school in New York. A little girl is practicing at the bar in a dark classroom. What role this girl will play is still unknown, but it is very likely that we will see her more often. This already shows a bit that the story will be predictable. I don't know for sure, and it took some effort to get into the story, because a lot happens. There are many changes of scenes and storylines. This first episode does have a high feel-good factor, and I like that.
The actors still need to be fleshed out a bit more for me. Jack McMillan (Luke Kirby, Rectify) is the director of the New York ballet company, and Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg), director of the French ballet company, play their roles well. Both are artistic characters who think they are very important, but are not taken very seriously by the outside world. Still, I notice that I still need some time to get into it.
Rebellious dancer who later makes a positive change
Cheyenne (Lou de Laâge) is a role that appeals to me more. Although it seems predictable: rebellious dancer who later turns around positively, I am very curious about how her role will develop further. Especially in combination with the rich and very questionable character Crispin Shamblee (Simon Callow, Outlander).
Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino had previously made the series Bunheads. This was also about the world of dance and ballet. This series only ran for one season. The question now is whether Étoile will be such a big success that season two will also be recorded. We'll see.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
