Aahana Swrup
‘Étoile’ is a unique workplace comedy show where prestigious ballet companies, separated by the Atlantic but united through their love for art forms, take center stage. It centers around Jack McMillan, executive director of the Metropolitan Ballet Theater in New York, and his Parisian counterpart, Geneviève Lavigne. As the time-honored dance form of ballet struggles to find cultural resonance and relevance, the two executives decide to embark on a risky but innovative gamble: an exchange marketing campaign. The plan remains simple—the two companies will swap their top talents for an entire year to foster intrigue and rejuvenate public excitement. Nonetheless, an ace trade-off is hardly bound to go smoothly, especially when it involves genius, yet quirky personalities like hard-headed Cheyenne Toussaint, perfectionist Tobias Bell, and the whirlwind world of chaos that seems to naturally accompany Jack and Geneviève every move. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Jack and Geneviève Strike up a Deal With the Devil
Jack McMillan is the man who pulls the strings behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Ballet Theater, ensuring his company puts out only the best of their artistic excellence. Yet, where he is a gifted leader, he can certainly make use of an HR training or two. Fortunately, his long-term friend, Le Ballet National’s Geneviève Lavigne, isn’t averse to his more friendly advances during their semi-professional night out at a club. However, she isn’t particularly eager to return those advances either. As it turns out, pleasant socialization hasn’t been the primary reason for Geneviève’s NY visit. Instead, the woman has a proposition of the professional sort for the MBT. It’s no secret that the ballet arts have been grossly suffering culturally under the weight of new entertainment avenues and the public’s dwindling interest.
Therefore, Geneviève puts forward a bold new proposal. She wants to do a Transatlantic exchange between her company and Jack’s, trading dancers, choreographers, conductors, and what-have-yous. This could be the exact kind of marketing kick they need in order to foster interest in their shows, which have severely declined since the pandemic. Jack is opposed to the idea as it is. As such, it doesn’t help when Geneviève reveals the plan hinges on their collaboration with war profiteering, environmentally destructive businessman Crispin Shamblee, a man whom Jack has patently refused to work with in the past. Nonetheless, despite the moral complications of the deal, the exec recognizes the potential it has to reform the art form, allowing hundreds of passionate artists to achieve their dreams. Thus, he inevitably swallows his pride and shakes hands with Geneviève and Crispin.
Cheyenne Toussaint Takes the MBT by a Storm
Following Jack’s reluctant agreement with Geneviève’s plan, the former plans to make exorbitant demands just to be a nuisance. However, the Paris company director seamlessly agrees to all his demands. In turn, her own requests for artists, including Mishi Duplessis, an ex-LBT student, and Tobias Bell, an eclectic but talented choreographer, are met with resistance. Yet, it’s the love of the arts once again that compels Jack to concede his compliance. Nevertheless, he puts down one final non-negotiable: Cheyenne Toussaint, one of the most skilled ballerinas of her time and Paris’ crowning jewel. Even though Jack seems to have some bad blood with the dancer, which may or may not involve an ill-advised affair, he’s prepared to work with her for the best of his company.
However, as the narrative shifts to a storm-ridden ship in the middle of the ocean, the gravity of Cheyenne’s brand of mayhem settles in. The dancer is accompanied by her fellow environmentalist, who seems to be confronting a bigger ship with dubious ethics. Nonetheless, even in the chilling storm, it’s Cheyenne’s abrasive nature that becomes a cause for concern for the other seamen. In fact, the casually violent threats and insults she hurls at the crew end up getting her arrested once back at the docks. A following phone call to her mother, an amateur tinkerer, reveals that it is far from her first time behind bars. Naturally, her bold nature doesn’t allow her to accept Geneviève’s plans to ship her off to the States without a fuss. Yet, she must also bite her tongue in the end, flying over to New York, her new home for now.
Mishi’s Homecoming Proves to be Overwhelmingly Isolating
Unlike the other artists, Mishi finds herself in for a reunion through the transatlantic exchange program. The young ballerina, on the precipice of a solo career, initially studied at the LBT in Paris. However, she was cut from the institution for yet vague reasons. This brought her to New York, where she joined Jack’s company—which she was now forced to leave. Apparently, her homecoming was one of the major reasons that Geneviève’s superior, the Minister of Culture (and coincidentally Mishi’s mother), greenlit the plan in the first place.
Nonetheless, once the young ballerina returns home, it becomes glaringly obvious that her family’s interest in her doesn’t really go beyond PR purposes. While the Minister and her husband make a great deal of enjoying Mishi’s return at the reporter-infested airport, neither party bothers to say more than one word to their daughter on the car ride back home. In fact, their carelessness as parents runs so deep that they had previously misinformed Mishi about the family dog, Simi’s death. While this means the dancer is at least reunited with one true friend back home, it also solidifies the rather lonely Parisian journey ahead of her.
Cheyenne Chooses a Dance Partner—and Creates More Trouble for Jack
Just because Cheyenne reluctantly joins the MBT company doesn’t mean she’s game to play by anyone else’s rules. It’s evident that the ballerina is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime talent, a fact that she has no qualms taking advantage of. She’ll put on a show for Jack’s company, but it will be done according to her preferences. As such, she brutally blows through every male dancer in the company, asserting their faults and letting them down “gently” through a violently allegorical tale. Inevitably, an exhausted Jack tells her to find her own partner—something she’s all too pleased to follow up on.
After carefully examining recordings of past performances, Cheyenne sets her eyes on the dancer she wants for her show: Gael Rodriguez. Gael has a rather colorful history with the MBT company, which has made him a sworn enemy of Jack. One of the reasons behind this animosity is believed to be Gael’s flaky nature, which compels him to put as much stake behind his other hobbies, like farming, as he does behind ballet. Alas, Cheyenne isn’t one to take no for an answer. As such, she backs both Gael and Jack into a corner by unceremoniously and prematurely announcing the former as her chosen dance partner during an MBT/LBT press conference event. Ultimately, it seems whatever rivalry the two men have with each other must be put in the backseat, at least for the coming year.
Young Susu Earns a Surprising Patron for her Ballet Education
While most of the central characters in the story are well-cemented figures of the Ballet world, the narrative finds a breath of fresh air in Susu. She’s the daughter of a cleaning lady at the MBT company. Her mother illicitly records ballet lessons for her during the day, allowing the young girl to practice in the establishment when it’s deserted in the nightly hours. With recordings as her teacher and borrowed pointe shoes, young Susu diligently hones her craft. Even though this goes unnoticed by the New York dancers, Cheyenne’s wandering habits eventually lead her to discover the young amateur ballerina.
Since Cheyenne comes from humble beginnings and knows the high financial cost of a passion for ballet, she isn’t eager to report Susu or her mother to any body of authority. Instead, she simply recognizes the girl’s budding talent and gives her a few tips about which instructor’s day classes to follow. The night after Susu’s initial introduction to Cheyenne, the girl finds a box of new pointe shoes waiting for her in the dark rehearsal hall. The gift bears no name of the sender, but it’s obviously addressed to the young girl, as evidenced by the name scrawled on the soles of the slippers. As such, it seems the young ballerina has found a not-so-mysterious sponsor, whose meddling promises exciting things for her future.
Read More: Is Étoile a True Story?
