Théâtre des Élèves pour la Danse de l'Opéra

The building at seven rue de Crussol stands out for its high, arched windows and the worn, faded lettering of a former era still ghosting the stone facade. It functioned as the rehearsal space for the dance students of the Paris Opera in the nineteenth century. Young dancers practiced their technique here far from the public eye of the main stage. One morning in eighteen eighty-five, a ballet mistress reportedly locked the doors to force a breakthrough in a stubborn student’s posture.