If there was one life lesson that has made it self apparent time and time again throughout my stay here, it would have to be; looks can be deceiving. Self-evident as it may be, this particular event was actually the makings of an American “off-off-broadway” production. Who would’ve thunk in France? Our program was scheduled for a ‘cultural activity’ and on this night, it was the viewing of a ballet performance. On our way to the Theatre Hall, or Maison de la Danse, Bea and some of the other girls mentioned a couple things about this specific performance. Despite that I wasn’t too sure as to what to expect.

We sat ourselves down two or three rows away from stage right and waited for the performance to start. As the lush red curtains were reeled up, a row of perfectly positioned ballerinas took center stage. The elegance of the ballerinas leaping from one end to another almost, just almost distracted you from one little fact. The perfectly made-up delicately dressed ballerinas were in drag. If the chest-hair and well-defined muscles didn’t give it away, their protruding Adam’s apple did the trick. The very sight rendered everyone in the audience, even the most stoic I’m sure, to some sort of chuckle. Bien-joué, the shock factor was immediate but hushed. The performance lasted a good two hours and despite some slapstick humor getting a bit old, this dance troupe has won me over. To poke fun at the canons of classical ballet, it was structured with the makings of a typical ballet performance; the prima-ballerina, her ladies in waiting, and of course her charming prince, and a final curtain call that took as long as half a performance (mild exaggeration intended). The hilarity of men in tutus and feathers untangling off the ballerina in a rendition of Swan Lake aside, what was beautiful about the entire thing was the point they were making. In a world where a ‘man’s’ job is just as good as a woman’s, can the same be said vice-versa?