Title: ' ballets and masquerades
Lee - February 20, 2008 06:23 AM (GMT)
` ballets and masquerades Ah, France. The beautiful country and everything that goes with it.
A name that expresses passion, grace, splendor. A name made for
royalty. Right?
Wrong.
Because when you get right down to it, it doesn't matter who holds
the crown. It's the raw, frenzied fight for it that is the one that matters.
Toulouse welcomes you to its long, bustling streets. La Place du
Capitol is filled with tourists, shoppers, businessmen, the works.
But when April dwindles like twilight in the sky, all that goes away.
The smiling shopkeepers hide their goods, the tourists their cameras.
Because when May hits, Toulouse is transformed into the birthplace
of some of the fiercest competition ever seen:
Le Festival Lavalloise.
Charles and Mireille Lavalloise were two dancers who wished to
see all sorts of dance come together in one great competition.
Soon, troupes and independent dancers alike were drawn to their
small studio like a compass to the North Pole.
Waking up every morning, the dancers participating in le Festival
Lavalloise need no Starbucks or coffee to get them going. The
adrenaline is already there, the rush humming through them, ignoring
the tired circles under their eyes and their strained muscles as they
rehearse, day after day. The sun beats down on their suntanned heads
as they watch other dancers' every move, waiting, watching, for one
to crack. And if one dancer does indeed snap, well, as they always say,
the show must go on.
For six years, the troupe la nuit rebelle has held the prestigious trophy
above their heads in victory. But this year, the competition is fierce.
Four troupes and three independent dancers will come, and only
one will succeed.
Make your choice.
Shall we dance?
