3e étage (from the French 'Third Floor') is a dance company founded in 2004 by dancer-choreographer Samuel Murez, and based in Paris, France. 3e étage dancers are all members of the Paris Opera Ballet, but the administrative and artistic direction are entirely independent from that company. 3e étage receives no subsidies, and operates entirely on income from performance sales to theaters, ticket sales of self-produced performances, and the support of private benefactors.
Contents
History
3e étage's first performance took place on May 28, 2006, in Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains, France.
The cast was composed of : Mathilde Froustey, Josua Hoffalt, Florian Magnenet, Yong-Geol Kim, Muriel Zusperreguy, Ludmila Pagliero, and Samuel Murez.
Of these, 3 later became principal dancers, and two first soloists.
Notable performances and invitations include:
3e étage was also featured in the 2012 video advertisement for the perfume Interlude, by Amouage.
Artistic Direction
Samuel Murez has been artistic director of 3e étage since its founding.
A director is credited for each show, separately from the general artistic direction of the Company.
As artistic director of 3e étage, Murez has stated that he sees his primary role as fostering a specific creative culture, in which:
Programming
From 2006 to 2009, 3e étage performances included work by a variety of choreographers alongside Murez's own: George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Edouard Lock, Roland Petit, Jiri Bubenicek, José Martinez, Ben van Cauwenbergh, Richard Siegal.
3e étage also produced performances by directors other than Samuel Murez. In 2011, 3e étage produced the show "Carte Blanche à Agnes Letestu", which was artistically directed by Paris Opera Ballet "Étoile" (Principal dancer) Agnès Letestu. This program was also performed in 2012, in Le Bouscat, France.
Starting in 2011, most 3e étage performances featured one full-length work created by Murez, divided into a series of scenes of various lengths, tied together by overarching themes, motifs, and recurring characters.
These included "Désordres" (Disorders), and its sequel "Le Pillow Thirteen" (created for the 2013 tour to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, later performed in France as "Dérèglements") In 2014, 3e étage announced two new programs to be premiered during the 2014–2015 season:
USA
Two week-length 3e étage tours Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (2011 and 2013) were entirely sold out, with the press universally praising the exceptionally high quality of the dancing, and noting the enthusiasm of the audience response.
Europe
3e étage performances are praised by the press, with Samuel Murez being described by Paris Match as"the Chaplin of dance", but writings about the company's performances regularly express puzzlement about 3e étage's artistic model and long-term development goals, questioning the low number of performances, the slow speed of creation of new work, and Murez's decision to continue working only with Paris Opera Ballet dancers. Many reviewers expressed frustration that new scenes of "Le Rêveur" (the Dreamer), the prologue of which was presented at the Paris Opera Bastille Amphitheater in February 2013, were not presented in subsequent shows.
Members
3e étage does not self-describe as a dance company. All self-published materials refer to it as a "group", and it does not publish a list of current members. In materials published by third parties, it is described as a "company" or "troupe".
Dancers participating in the company's performances during the 2013–2014 season included:
Josua Hoffalt, François Alu, Lydie Vareilhes, Léonore Baulac, Laura Hecquet, Takeru Coste, Niccolo Balossini, Hugo Vigliotti.