French Connections: Inside Boston Ballet’s Paris Tour
International touring rarely goes entirely to plan, but an unexpected event didn’t stop Boston Ballet from performing in Paris this October. Upon arrival at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the production team discovered that all 10 cargo containers with the company’s costumes and equipment had not arrived and were stuck in customs in Boston. With little time to spare, the lighting director and technicians sourced lights in Paris to build two substitute lighting units for Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, while the wardrobe team set off to source alternative costumes in Dresden and Bordeaux.
Despite the rocky start, the mood at the historic Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was cheerful and focused when Pointe went behind the scenes to speak with artists of Boston Ballet before opening night. After two and a half days of preparing for a series of five performances, the dancers had already settled into the new time zone and established a steady routine: class, followed by afternoon rehearsals and, once the alternative costumes arrived, fittings. Last-minute costume alterations and lighting checks were underway as dancers bustled between the dressing rooms, costume department, and studio.
Paris is familiar ground for Boston Ballet, which performed in the city in 2019 and 2024 under Mikko Nissinen’s leadership. “Who doesn’t love to be in Paris?” the artistic director asked with a smile during a jam-packed morning of calls and preparations for opening night. Nissinen, who is celebrating 25 years at the company’s helm, chose a double bill for the tour, pairing Ekman’s Cacti with Akram Khan’s Vertical Road (Reimagined). The two contemporary works offer contrasting moods—one playful, the other more dramatic—that he said reflects the company’s versatility and varied repertoire. “This tour is very important to us to show we are not a museum,” Nissinen said. “We are today’s theater for today’s people.”
For second soloist Alexis Workowski, who danced in Cacti, the tour marked her first time performing in Paris. Having won third prize at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition in 2022 before joining Boston Ballet two years ago, the dancer was delighted to be back in Europe. Before class, she shared: “I was so excited to come to Paris. I love seeing how people respect the arts here.”
Workowski was equally enthusiastic about how the tour provided an opportunity to bond with her co-workers. “In Boston I’m so strict with my schedule that I don’t get to go out much with my fellow dancers,” she said. “Here, we eat breakfast together every day.” Navigating the city of Paris and rooming together brought everyone closer.
But dancing in a different country is not without challenges. Unfamiliar mealtimes and food products sometimes complicate individual health needs. Workowski, who has PCOS—a metabolic condition that causes insulin resistance and her blood sugar levels to fluctuate—found that drinking additional fluids was helpful. But her key strategy was establishing a familiar schedule: “Even though I was tired the first few days from dealing with the time change, no matter what, I stuck to my normal routine.”
Principal dancer Jeffrey Cirio, who has also been a principal with American Ballet Theatre and English National Ballet, is a veteran traveler. Still, he was the only dancer cast in the lead role of Vertical Road (Reimagined) during the five-night Paris run, so the success of the production relied heavily on his well-being. To maintain his stamina, Cirio prioritized sleep—and with a 2-year-old back home in Boston, he was even able to catch up on some extended shut-eye.
Despite the demands of performing, Cirio still managed to visit a few culinary hot spots on his wish list. “I love the food here, and going to restaurants and wine bars,” he said before company class. “But at the end of the day, we are on tour and my priority is to take care of myself and get as much physical therapy as possible.”
Cirio also added that Paris felt inspiring as a hub for international dance artists, a sentiment Workowski echoed. She added that while the company had worked with Alexander Ekman via Zoom before their September run of Cacti in Boston, she was grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with the Swedish choreographer in Paris in person this time. During their Paris rehearsals, Ekman made small modifications to the piece, tailoring it to the current cast. “He’s so detailed and can jump up onstage here to show something, which makes it really clear,” Workowski said.
Dancers appeared to adjust to the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées stage with relative ease. “As an older theater, it has so much history,” said Cirio, citing Vaslav Nijinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which infamously debuted there in 1913. That was sufficient compensation for any minor inconveniences, including a slightly harder floor than the company is accustomed to.
As for the missing cargo, it turned up before the second performance. Dancers like Workowski were grateful to be reunited with their own original costumes, which, for Cacti, matched each performer’s skin tone: “It’s a small detail, but it really makes a difference in how everything comes together onstage.”
Following the opening-night performance, which earned the company a standing ovation, Nissinen was reflective: “Life is not always predictable. Anything can happen, but the curtain will go up.”
