Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino, the Emmy winning showrunners and collaborative couple who created shows like the beloved Gilmore Girls and the critically acclaimed The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, are diving into the world of ballet with Étoile.
The Palladinos are far from strangers when it comes to world of music and dance, with both aforementioned series featuring lengthy musical sequences during their runs, as well as their series Bunheads coming from a similar place of passion and love of the craft. With Étoile, they have finally been able to put ballet at the forefront, creating a wonderful show with not only a captivating story, but beautiful dance set pieces throughout the eight episode season.
Étoile – meaning “star” in English – follows two world renowned, yet struggling, ballet studios in New York and Paris, whose directors, Jack McMillan (Luke Kirby) and Geneviève Lavigne (Charlotte Gainsbourg), come up with a risky tactic to swap their most talented stars from either side in an effort to bring more interest to the world of ballet and ultimately save their companies.
We follow characters like Cheyenne Toussaint (Lou de Laâge), a controversial and brash star ballet dancer, who’s been reassigned to the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in New York; Mishi (professional ballerina Taïs Vinolo), a former Parisian who is begrudgingly sent back to Le Ballet National; Tobias Bell (Gideon Glick), an incredibly talented, yet socially inept, choreographer whose initial move to Paris is a complete shock to his system; and Susu (dancer LaMay Zhang) who sneaks into the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre after hours to practice at the studio, with bootleg footage her mother has filmed from dance classes held at the ballet company. All the while following Jack and Geneviève as they navigate their failing ballet companies.
The jump between New York and Paris can be quite jarring at times, with stark differences between both cities and the people in it. And with such a large international ensemble cast, featuring actors as well as trained dancers, it’s seemingly more difficult to blend in the two worlds. And while Étoile tries to prove itself to be a glorious blend of mixed passions, the back and forth between the two cities with characters who are constantly arguing about something rather than nothing feels off.
Regardless, Étoile puts the limelight on the drama and passion of being a part of the arts. It’s full of backstabbing, brutal honesty, and pain, but also completely embodies the love, intense emotion, humour, and the magnificent ability to use the arts as a form of self expression.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
All episodes of Étoile are now available to stream on Prime Video.
