European School of Ballet (ESB), founded and directed by Jean-Yves Esquerre and led by Artistic Director Olivier Wecxsteen is an American/European center of advanced training and professional development in ballet and its classical offshoots in contemporary repertoire. ESB aims to perpetuate the legacy of academic European ballet expanded with international contemporary styles. It welcomes world-renowned ballet masters to stage works and help in the mission of preservation of iconic choreographies.
Words from founder: “The reality underlying the experience of a learning center like ESB, is a process of empowerment, the taking of responsibility for one’s artistic life and, in extenso, for one’s current existence. Training in actions of co-creating, through a medium like dance, millions of repetitions of conscious gestures and movements, is a path of mindfulness leading to a clear expression of self, a connection to one’s sacredness and to an ultimate spiritual freedom.
Students being guided to dance, teach, and/or choreograph from an early age, discover a huge array of tools that will enable them to search for their personal route. Ballet being one of the most strenuous, demanding, and refined disciplines, should render us free and not slaves, potent and not victims, victorious and not defeated.
Often dreamed of by children, the initiation tales of the 19th century ballets, are only some of the frameworks underlying this path for warriors, where heroes looking for their grail will learn along the way about frailty and resilience, failures and success, overcoming fear, conquering their minds and ultimately owning their lives.
We hold fast the vision of that training center that will continue to host artists of all ages and from all venues, united in one spirit, cultivating kindness and compassionate help, aiming for transcendence and freedom. Some of these artists will not need this profession to go on to their personal achievement and some others will carry the torch one step further; but all will agree to share a moment in their lives where they will acknowledge each other, teach and learn from each other and leap into the reality they will create for themselves.
Education is the only bridge worth all these efforts, and we are responsible for providing, to the best of our abilities, a renewed template, fluid and all-pervasive, a template that takes into account the present moment and not the past, a template that leaves room for creativity and critical thinking but more importantly one that opens doors to new paths, new ways and that will ensure a better future for generations to come.” Jye