Chloé Réveillon, rising star French dancer with the Amsterdam National Ballet

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On the stage of the opera in Amsterdam (Netherlands) there is a French dancer of international class. Chloé Réveillon is 31 years old. Its pointe shoes have graced the most prestigious theaters: London (United Kingdom), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Paris. A career aimed at the ultimate goal of “becoming a prima ballerina”. “That’s why I work every day and get up on the days off. It’s to accomplish this dream,” she slips.

She has been dancing in the capital of the Netherlands for five years. Her job comes to her home early in the morning. “I prepare my shoes for rehearsals and I take the opportunity to, in my head, visualize and review the steps, the corrections and all the points of improvement for the next day,” she describes. “We finish the show at 11 p.m. and we rarely see daylight. So the moments when this is the case, they are really privileged and important to still remain connected to the outside world,” explains the dancer.

A French woman not totally out of place in Amsterdam

In training for the first performance of the season, Chloé is not really out of place. French words come out of the teacher's mouth. “All the dance steps are in French: dédécré, jetta, grand beat, sissonne, assembly,” she explains. “The vocabulary of ballet developed at the court of Louis Conversely, Chloé also adapts to the Amsterdam way of life: “When I got off the Eurostar, I bought a bike immediately.”

During the break, she meets other French dancers who have recently arrived in the Amsterdam ballet. In this very competitive environment, advice from the most experienced is welcome. “The French, we are therefore in elegance, in the accuracy of movement, summarizes the dancer. We prefer to be perhaps less extravagant, but much more precise.”

Hundreds of upcoming shows

Show time is approaching. Hair and makeup are done by the dancers themselves. This time, a friend of Chloé, of Cuban origin, will help her. Injured, she will not dance tonight. “She works very hard. She is really made to be a great ballerina,” says Laura Tosar Romero. Behind the scenes, languages ​​mix. Chloé speaks four languages, including Russian.

During her last rehearsal before the arrival of the public, she repeats gestures learned when she was young as a little rat at the Paris Opera. Precision, rigor, grace: so many typically French qualities. “The Paris Opera is a dream,” assures Luca Abdel-Nour, senior member of the Amsterdam National Opera and Ballet. “And Chloé is quite stubborn, but stubborn in the sense that when you have to get there, you get there.” Until the last moment, you have to rehearse, warm up. “It’s quite contrasting, between a lot of calm and a lot of adrenaline. You have to manage this energy throughout,” explains the Frenchwoman. “I love adrenaline, I think it’s what makes me feel alive.”

Mission accomplished. In the foyer, the public awaits him and his companion. “It was great, as usual,” he rejoices. “You shine so much!”, spectators shout at him. After the compliments, the ice bath for Chloé's feet. “Happy to be back on stage. Then let’s say we get the ball rolling,” she concludes. A hundred shows to come, sometimes in the role of star: the French ballerina has not finished performing on stages around the world.