Bunheads babes, we’re so back. The Étoile trailer is officially here, giving us our first glimpse of the Prime Video ballet comedy.
Set in New York City and Paris, the eight-episode Étoile follows the dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies, as they embark on an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars. It’s the latest partnership between Prime and Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, last seen exploring another part of showbiz with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Here’s what we’ve learned from the Étoile trailer:
Not Everyone Is Thrilled About the Swap
The Étoile trailer opens with ballet directors Jack (Luke Kirby) and Geneviève (Charlotte Gainsbourg) arguing about the very idea of swapping dancers.
“Your company, it’s in trouble,” Geneviève says over a montage of disastrous moments. Despite Jack’s denials, she admits, “Mine is too,” and pitches the idea of swapping stars to drum up publicity and creativity. He (very reluctantly, it seems) agrees.
Jack isn’t the only one who’s wary of the exchange. Just in this two-minute trailer, several other characters express their frustration. Gideon Glick’s choreographer Tobias storms out in a huff when he’s asked to be part of the switch. And then there’s Lou de Laâge as Cheyenne, a star French ballerina traded to the Americans, much to her chagrin. “I don’t know how much I have left in me,” she admits to Jack in one clip.
The Ballet Sequences Look Incredible
Much of the Étoile trailer is taken up with gorgeously-filmed dance sequences, both in the rehearsal room and on glamorous stages. Sherman-Palladino has often spoken about her own ballet background and ongoing love for dance, and it looks like that is shining through in this trailer.
We catch glimpses of comically disastrous moments, like a line of ballerinas tumbling down like dominoes. But we also see stunning feats of elegance and skill. Maisel choreographer Marguerite Derricks and costume designer Donna Zakowska are back to create these beautiful scenes for Étoile.
Sparks Are Flying On- and Off-Stage
The Étoile trailer shows off more than just the stunning dance sequences. It’s clear, even in these little snippets, that there are already a lot of intriguing relationships to follow. Jack and Geneviève are exes who seem to know just how to push each other’s buttons. They’ll be on different continents for much of the storyline, but when has that mattered in TV romance?
True to life (as any theatre or dance kid will tell you), there’s plenty of interpersonal drama among the dance companies, too. Tobias bickers with a French dancer (Ivan du Pontavice) in one scene, only to share a charged look in another. After terrifying all the company’s male dancers, Cheyenne gets her old partner Gael (David Alvarez) out of retirement to dance with her. They look very comfortable together, and Cheyenne later casually tells Jack that she and Gael just slept together (on Jack’s couch).
That Signature Palladino Humor Is Back
It wouldn’t be a Palladino show without fast-paced dialogue and dry quips. There’s definitely some of that on display in the Étoile trailer! In one clips, Geneviève tells Raphael (Yanic Truesdale), “If they strike, I don’t have to pay them.” In another, Tobias argues with his dancer over whether he did or didn’t “skip the woosh!” There’s even a classic “sticky-handed children” style of Palladino-ism, where Cheyenne indignantly tells Geneviève that she gave up having children for her career… even though she hates children.
In other words: if you’re already a Palladino fan, Étoile should be right in your comfort zone!
Watch the full Étoile trailer below. Will you be tuning in when Étoile arrives on April 24 on Prime Video? Tell us in the comments below!
