Adeline Pastor

[mad4ballet]

Hello. I didn't know if this question should go here but here it goes. I ran across some amazing video of a dancer named Adeline Pastor. I tried a search here and on the internet but nothing comes up except video footage. Does anyone have any information about this dancer? Even at age 10 she was an incredible dancer. Thanks in advance.

[MelissaGA]

I saw those videos on Youtube as well. There are no years on the Nutcracker ones, but the one of her at 15 in a competition in Cuba was done in 1998 (the date is at the start of the video).

 

I wonder if she even has the same last name, knowing that she would be 25 now.

 

editted to add:

 

I found in one of the comments on her Piaf video on Youtube (in which she certainly looks more mature than in the other videos) that she is now a principal with Essen Ballet in Germany.

[mad4ballet]

Ok - thank you!

[star13]

Yeah, I saw her on youtube too! She is sooooo amazing! I can't believe she isn't famous!?

[ClassicMomMd]

She is principal dancer for a company in Germany. She is also the Master Teacher at this year's Joy & Dance Summer Intensive 2012 in Antalya Turkey - first week of July '12

[shulie]

She is principal in Essen. It is a good company, focusing more on contemporary, than classical (though I have seen a classical Sleeping Beauty there once) but definitely not one of the "top notch" ballet companies in Germany, let alone the world.

She is a good example that most "baby ballerinas" do not end up having the sky rocketing careers one would think they`d have.

Don`t get me wrong-she is a very good dancer and a wonderful person BUT seeing her dance as a teen one would think she would at least be principal at ABT, Kirov or at least the Berlin State Ballet.

She simply did not end up having the "cookie cutter" body for classical ballet I suppose-she is too muscular. I love her in more contemporary roles (believe the role of Edith Piaf was created for her), she is a stunning dancer and a great actress.

[Blackswan]

Lol you can look it all up on her website! @ http://www.adelinepastor.com/

 

Blackswan

[shulie]

Here is recent footage of her doing the Flames of Paris PDD and variations together with her partner who is a dancer in Essen as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ7hgVpZDIM&feature=related

[DancingSquirrel]

I love her! She is the best turner I've ever seen!

yes, I was also surprised when I found out she wasn't in a wordly famous ballet company. But it seems she enjoys dancing contemporary pieces more anyways, so I guess that's good

[diane]

The posts here also bring to mind the far-reaching concept that only in well-known, world-famous companies are there to be found exceptional dancers.

This is not the case at all.

There are many, many very good, very artistic, and also very technically brilliant dancers in much smaller, often regional companies around the world.

I was recently in a very small city in Germany in which there is a rather small company which was doing a classical ballet. It was wonderful to see the high technical and artistic level of the dancers there!

So, even if a dancer is really good, they can still get a challenging, fullfilling job in a smaller company.

You are also correct, DancingSquirrel, that many dancers do enjoy doing a wide variety of styles for as long as they can.

 

-d-

[shulie]

I totally agree! Unfortunately many regional companies have to close down due to the bad financial situation in Germany (and worldwide).

[vrsfanatic]

Having just seen Ms. Pastor, for a major American company, I am afraid she does not have a physique that is generally seen in this country nor the refined style of performance. She does indeed turn remarkably and is able to balance as well, although often she is not musical while doing so. Her artistic interpretation in Don Q, as well as the choreographic changes might be considered a bit too harsh for some ballet professionals in the US. I must say, she is very strong.

[shulie]

This is the reason she became principal with a smaller German company which is focusing on contemporary work - suits her strength and her musuclar body type better.

She was privately trained by one single teacher, quite competition style, in France most of all her education and then finished at Cannes in her later teens I believe.

This may explain her sometimes "harsh" style of dancing and lack of refinement- these are the results of her originally competition focused training! If you are trained to do triple pirouettes at 12 and are successful at major competitions at an early age, there is not much time or space for working on refined movements.

However I do find her very expressive and a good actress - but more in the contemporary and neoclassical roles.

 

Like here

or in Carmen or as Edith Piaf.

[Hamorah]

I agree with vrsfanatic - definitely not sylph-like enough for most classical ballet companies and a style that is somewhat course. I could see the beginning of those large calf muscles in the video of her at 13. I wonder if this is nature or the way she was trained. Heavens the balletworld is cruel! That's why out of all the talented students I have had with strong enough classical technique, only 4 had the physique to get into our national ballet company. She is very strong, but I had higher expectations of her after seeing the videos on youtube of her as a child.

[shulie]

Without the cookie cutter physique it is hard, if not impossible to make it to one of the top classical companies. This is very cruel and has not always been that way (look at the ballerinas of the 1950`s and 1960`s, let alone the ones before that era).

 

But... Ms. Pastor did not give up - she could have easily! I am sure she suffered a lot in her youth when she realized she was not developing the way she was supposed to - and was very successful in finding "her" niche in the dance world. Essen is a good, solid company with tons of creative potential - more than most "big" companies do have nowadays. The opera the ballet company is with is one of the largest and best opera houses in Germany. Being a principal there is really not bad at all. You don`t need the big Western European companies POB, Berlin State Opera, Munich, Vienna, RB and the big Americans. And I believe the mix of contemporary and neoclassical work with a little purely classical pieces as they do it in Essen is great for Ms. Pastor. Both for her artistic development and for her muscular physique. Then again I believe 99% of all classical dancers worldwide do not make it into the big companies. Even if they do meet the hard requirements re body shape. It is market and demand, just too many talented dancers and too few jobs!