Neneh Superstar

Dad!

NENEH SUPERSTAR

- Hello. - Hello. Nina Sahiere.

- Hello! - It's for the entrance exam.

Nénéh-Fanta Gnaoré, 12. 55 rue des Limandes Pourpres,

building C, stairwell A. La Courneuve.

Stairwell B, floor 2, door C.

Give me a hug, honey.

Here.

Hello, girls.

This last round is different.

You'll be dancing freestyle,

so you'll be onstage with no répétiteur, as in the previous rounds.

And this jury is composed of our teaching staff.

Don't let the new faces unsettle you.

Is Madame Marianne Belage in this jury?

Yes, the Head Dean presides over the last round.

Next, the infirmary.

Bring medical certificates, information sheets.

Did you all write down your parents' height and weight?

- Yes. - Good, follow me.

My name is Julia Dobinier. I'm 12.

I dance at CRR -Paris, and go to elementary school in flextime.

Olivia,12. I've been dancing since I'm 4.

I'm Salomé Laurent. I turned 12 in February.

I'm in 8th grade. I skipped a year.

I live in Caen in Normandy and in the 16th in Paris.

I began dancing at 2 and a half.

So it's been 10 years.

I started competitions last year.

I did the Nijinsky Competition and I received a silver medal.

Hello, I'm Romane L'Archer. I'm 12.

I live in Paris in the 8th.

Since the age of 2 and a half, lots of competitions.

But in Italy, where we lived until last year.

Hello, I'm Iris Clishe.

I go to elementary school in the 5th in flextime.

School in the morning, dance in the afternoon.

Weekends I take private classes with Muriel Hascolovitch.

I recently began competitions.

For the International CND, I came in first.

Hello, I'm Nénéh-Fanta Gnaoré. I'm 12.

Can I start? Can I dance?

- Can we start with some questions? - Sure, ask away.

Where did you study dance?

Very long story. I started in 4th grade

but the extracurricular classes sucked.

Then I took classes in the Coteaux projects.

My neighborhood hates Coteaux,

But their classes are amazeballs. I did hip-hop.

How did you prepare for the competition?

I saw videos of Marianne Belage when she was danseuse étoile.

And now I know all the moves: La Bayadère, Swan Lake...

So... I took all the steps from there.

It inspired me for my freestyle.

Excuse me, can we... start over?

I'm ready.

Can you do it when I start? I wasn't ready.

How graceful! If she has no hitches in her growth cycle, she's promising.

- Alexandre? - Yes, I fully agree.

Excellent. Louna is admitted.

Next is Nénéh-Fanta Gnaoré.

There's nothing to discuss.

Very talented, but she's not right for our school.

There is no such thing as a physical ideal,

but we need an aesthetic uniformity in the ballet corps.

- Our school would be lucky to have her. - No, I don't think so.

Why not? We have a Mauritian in our quadrilles.

The quadrilles are the last of the substitutes!

She'll never make soloist.

We want to train leads, not extras.

She's already 23. Some of you were already leads.

Her black skin tone is more pronounced than the Mauritian's.

Let's take her! Her proportions are perfect!

That's not the point. The point is her relevance here.

Imagine her in a ballet in 7 or 8 years.

Won't her skin color be a distraction?

The 40 swans are white.

Cinderalla, Gisèle, Bayadère: all white. It's our tradition.

Our job is to protect our values and pass them on.

- Is it our job to choose her? - Stop!

It's not our job to stifle talent.

So what is it, to open doors to whoever?

No, it's to be lucid and choose the best.

With black somatotypes, we take the risk of a body exploding in adolescence.

Hips and breasts not in our norms.

Remember how we had to fire Fatoumata.

In our company we've already had Blacks.

Idrissa Bentou,

Jean-Rose Martin,

Baptiste Bhénoussi.

Those men did all their schooling here.

Then they joined the company.

They were never soloists and all left prematurely.

Total loss. And they're boys. It's not the same.

We have boys from China, Korea, girls from Ukraine and Finland, Italy.

We've diversified quite a bit.

We only have 7 spots this year. If we take a girl like Nénéh,

we thwart girls like Victoire or Morgane from joining the troupe.

- Their profiles are easier fits. - We're full of Victoires and Morganes.

Excuse me, your role is purely consulting.

You may run the Opéra, but I run the ballet school.

The teaching staff and I make recruitment decisions.

Indeed, but... this Nénéh must absolutely be admitted to the school.

Put her first on the list.

This is freaking amazing!

Thank you!

Why did you let me try out? You didn't think I'd get in?

All good?

I never said no, that's all.

You didn't tell me everything.

- I said it was the best! - But not that you'd sleep there.

Or that you'd quit school to dance 8 hours a day.

Oh yeah, right.

You think the Opéra de Paris Ballet School

is for welfare cases and drop-outs? On the contrary.

Listen, I know no one who went there. I don't trust it. Period.

Want me waste my life like you?

You're jealous! Jealous! Jealous!

Dad!

- Open! - Let me sleep!

- Mom hit me! - Too bad for you.

Alert! Violence!

- What did you do? - Nothing!

It's her! She hit me because I was admitted.

Nénéh, please, let me sleep. Go to your room.

Thanks.

You'll sleep there, eat there. Shower too?

- It's boarding school! - I get it, but it still sounds like a lot.

- Relax, I'll be back on weekends. - That's not enough.

And also, honestly, maybe you'll be immediately expelled.

Totally!

- Princess school, for princesses. - You don't get it.

- Dance pulses through my veins. - Whatever!

It's all that matters.

I wouldn't see you at Opéra Ballet. A youth center, sure.

In a zoo, why not?

- But the Opéra? You're gangsta! - I totally agree.

You don't go with the Opéra. Your face doesn't fit in.

I'll invite you.

I'll give you free seats. That'll teach you.

How's life since Samuel rejected you for the 46th time?

- 46 is a lot! - My life is now dance and nutrition.

- No more guys. I'm doing a detox. - Detox from rejection!

And nutrition-wise...

- We can see! - Seriously.

- You set a great example. - Amazing!

You okay, sweetie?

- Fine. - Wanna grab a coffee?

- I start again in 5 minutes. - Okay.

- You decided for Nénéh? - It's decided.

- I don't get you. - Dancer isn't a job.

Why put it in her head? How will she get by?

- Pro dancer isn't a job? - Tell me one famous Black ballerina.

Tell me one famous white dancer you know.

- There are lots. - You don't know.

There's no need to worry. She'll be fine there.

School in the morning, dance the afternoon.

And tutors at night.

Got a better idea?

You're okay with boarding school?

- Seeing her on weekends? - It's a combo: dance and boarding.

I checked. It's a great opportunity.

How long can you dance? Until you're 35, 40. Then what?

Relax, she'll manage. Look at Deschamps, Zidane!

I have to go.

- You never dreamt of being a ballerina? - I took judo.

Can't you trust your daughter?

- "Trust your daughter", spare me. - See you.

- See you later. - Later.

Don't get carried away. We stick to the list.

Nénéh?

Nénéh, you hear?

Try this on. Go on...

All good, honey?

Our new collection will set off her skin tone.

From light rose to black, bronzes in between.

Her "skin tone"?

- We can't dress like we want to? - She knows her stuff.

She knows more than me?

White interrupts the black silhouette. We've found new solutions.

Solutions? I have no problem.

An Opéra Ballet School coupon.

Once you untangle your hair, use this. It's very good.

Put a lot on the sides,

so you can slick back the stray hairs.

Put on a lot, a lot.

- Then... - When will you do it?

Let me explain first. Afterwards you'll be on your own.

Next, you take this brush...

You want to hear about him?

Actually, he's not at all serious.

You pull hard, and put on a rubber band. Then you do a twist.

- You'll have the prettiest bun ever. - Can you do it for me now?

Of course, no problem. We'll start by untangling. Is that okay?

Okay, great. Here we go.

He told the girl to come!

- Yes! - You saw her?

- No. He waited for her at the airport. - I don't believe it.

Then the bun cap.