Amy Sherman-Palladino Gets a Second Chance at the Barre

When I was five, I wanted to be a ballerina. The little girl next door and I signed up for ballet classes at the same time. She went on to dance professionally. I dropped out after my first, disastrous recital. But that was OK because it turned out all I was really interested in were the tutus, and I happily wore them around the house until I outgrew them.

One of my cousins danced professionally, too. Every year, we would go see her in The Nutcracker and whatever other ballets she performed in NYC. I thought she was very glamorous and lived an exciting life on stage. She was part of something beautiful that made people experience many emotions in just one performance. I think my early exposure to dance opened me up for my future in creating and producing theater. That’s when I realized the glamour and excitement of living a life making art are easily canceled out by the angst, sweat, and tears that go into it.

I still love to watch ballet. And while I was not a fan of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s other shows, I loved Bunheads. It ended too soon, but Sherman-Palladino and Prime Video have tried to make amends for that cancellation by giving us Étoile.

Étoile is the story of sibling dance companies that trade company members for a season to shake things up and boost ticket sales. The fictional companies, The Metropolitan Ballet Theater in NYC and The Ballet National in Paris, are helmed by on-again/off-again lovers, Jack (Luke Kirby) and Geneviève (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Their relationship is what I would consider typical of a Sherman-Palladino show: supportive but argumentative. They obviously care deeply for each other, but the good of their company will always come first. The weight of multi-million dollar budgets and their organizations being seen as the crown jewels of their respective countries’ cultural institutions both bring them together and isolate them from each other and everyone around them. The arts are not known as a space that allows for healthy relationship building.

Gainsbourg (Melancholia) is at her irritable best in this series. Frazzled and constantly concerned about the well-being of her company and her dancers, Geneviève is, how do you say in French? “De mauvaise humeur.” She has no time for feelings or emotions. But Charlotte Gainsbourg plays her with so much raw charm and humor that you’re forced to like her, despite her rough edges.

Luke Kirby’s (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) Jack is overly sensitive and constantly stressed out by everything. He believes he’s cursed to die at 45 because every man in his family has before him. He’s dependent on the stability and consistent cheeriness of Nicholas, his Artistic Director (played by David Haig) to keep him from spiraling into emotional collapse.

Gideon Glick (The Other Two) plays the stereotypical “artistic genius” choreographer for the New York Company. Tobias is coded as Autistic, and when he’s “traded” to Paris, his obstacles include finding the “right” toothpaste, dealing with an unfamiliar living situation, and facing his first professional failure.

All of the background dancers and some of the featured performers were cast from within the ballet community. But the stars of Étoile’s dance companies are French standouts performing archetypal roles.

Ivan du Pontavice plays Gabin, the “bad boy” who just needs a good reason to reform his behavior. Taïs Vinolo is Mishi, the ingénue, a pawn in a game of egos being played between her mother, the Minister of Culture, and Geneviève, which sets her apart from the rest of the company.

The pièce de résistance of the show is Lou de Laâge, who plays the petulant prima ballerina Cheyenne Toussaint. She reluctantly brings her extraordinary talent and terrible temper to New York after being dragged away from her most recent environmentalist crusade. De Laâge is an absolute delight to watch in her scenes and on the dance stage throughout the series.

Raised by an emotionally absent mother and thrust into a spotlight she knows is temporary, Cheyenne is damaged goods. She hides her insecurities behind abrasiveness, and when that façade cracks it shatters into a million pieces. It’s a strong performance by de Laâge, who steals every scene she’s in. Étoile is her show, the same way The Metropolitan Ballet Theater is Cheyenne’s company the moment she walks through the doors. They both elevate the performances of their scene partners and command the audience’s attention with every move.

Sherman-Palladino excels at building worlds out of dialogue and scenery we want to immerse ourselves in. And the insular world of professional ballet is its own character in Étoile. The spectacle and artistry of the performances she chose to include in the series are remarkable.

The first season of Étoile is only eight episodes, and I ate them like a bag of candy over two days. It feels perfect, like the first season of Prime’s Reacher felt perfect. It is both intimate and expansive in its portrayal of a life lived solely focused on the arts. Sherman-Palladino creates beautiful moments that remind us that sometimes the angst, sweat, and tears pay off. And it has already been picked up for a second season. Yay!

All eight episodes of Étoile are available to stream on Prime. Va danser!