A History of Flames of Paris

Hi Beauties,

Stroll through the streets of Paris with us, French Revolution era, while we explore the history of the 1933 Vasily Vaynonen ballet. The Bolshoi Ballet originally debuted the piece but it was revived by choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky, in 2008. The ballet features songs of the French Revolution and sets the stage in the Tuileries Palace when the revolutionary soldiers marched to victory in Paris. The ballet culturally merges Russian choreography with French musical compositions to create a revolutionary historically inspired ballet for a dramatic and heartwarming ballet thrill.

The Flames of Paris is a three-act athletic ballet using the historical backdrop of the French Revolution. Following the American Revolution, the French working class are driven to create a democratic republic for themselves and thus begins the revolution for political freedom.

The ballet begins in a forest near Marseilles, where the peasant Gaspard and his children, Jeanne and Pierre, are gathering firewood. When a Count and his hunting party stumble upon them. The count spots a young Jeanne, who he must have for himself. When her father saves her, Gaspard is attacked by the Count. In the next scene, Jeanne is telling the people of the city of Marseilles the attacks that she and her father endured at the hands of the Count and his henchmen. The people ofMarseilles are outraged at the ever growing power entitlement of it's aristocracy and the injustice that Jeanne and Gaspard have experience, so they plot to release the prisoners of the Count, Marquis de Beauregard.

The ballet shifts to the setting at the court of Versailles during a banquet. The aristocrats are petitioning the King to give them permission to punish and hold accountable the revolutionaries whom stormed the prison and released their people. Before they can petition the King, Mireille de Poitiers, an actor in the palace theatre that evening, discovered the plot against the peasants and rushes to escape the palace to warn her people.

We then see the Paris square where the uprising has begun. The height of this scene is exciting and aristocrats are attacked by the peasants for their unjust actions. To the sound of French Revolution songs, the people storm the palace and the ballet ends back in the Paris square, with the peasant people celebrating their victory as Jeanne's brother has killed the evil Count, becoming the hero of the story.

Ballet Beautiful Master Trainer, Yuki, is hosting a Subscriber Exclusive Choreography Workshop Livestream on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 11a NYC time with the dramatic and fiery choreography of Flames of Paris. If you miss the livestream, not to worry; the workout will be featured in our Custom Workout Streaming Library.

If you are not yet a member, subscribe to our Custom Workout Subscription for exclusive classes!

+ Prep for Yuki's choreography workshops ahead of time with her ballet pro tips! 

Have a beautiful workout!

The Ballet Beautiful Team