Paris Opéra Ballet Étoile Hannah O’Neill Shares Her Daily Routine
Hannah O’Neill is living the Parisian dream. When the Paris Opéra Ballet étoile isn’t performing principal roles like Paquita or Giselle at the Palais Garnier or the Opéra Bastille, she can be found taking in the city’s famous art scene or enjoying an “apéro” with friends.
Below, O’Neill shares her rehearsal routine, and how she spends a performance day and a day off.
8:30 am: O’Neill doesn’t consider herself a morning person. She wakes up with a shower, her skin-care routine, and a cup of coffee with toast at home. “I don’t wear makeup on a daily basis,” she says. “But I’m very into my creams and my facial treatments.”
9:30 am: O’Neill walks from her home to the Opéra in Paris’ 9th arrondissement.
10:45 am: POB offers three daily classes for the company, at 10 am, 10:45 am, and 11:30 am. The class O’Neill takes depends on her rehearsal schedule for the rest of the day. “I get to class quite last-minute usually,” she says. “But for me, class is very important, like meditation. If I’m not injured or sore, I will always do class to the end.”
12 pm: Lunch is one of O’Neill’s favorite parts of the day. The Garnier has a canteen with a hot food line and grab-and-go options, or sometimes O’Neill will pack food from home. “It’s not the best food at all,” O’Neill says. “But it’s a place where I get to see all my friends and share lunch with everyone.”
1:30 pm: First rehearsal block. A rehearsal block starts at an hour and a half but can go longer. As an étoile, O’Neill often rehearses separately from the corps until the entire cast is brought together for full run-throughs.
3:30 pm: Second rehearsal block. “There are moments when we’re rehearsing two ballets at the same time,” O’Neill says, so she might switch gears from what she had rehearsed earlier in the day. She also might fit in some private coaching or independent rehearsal for a gala performance.
6 pm: On a full rehearsal day, O’Neill finishes and heads to an appointment with her physical therapist for rehabilitation.
7 pm: Some days O’Neill will indulge in an apéro, the French term for a pre-dinner cocktail hour. “Especially with the weather now, it’s nice to be out on the terrace in Paris. It’s a very Parisian thing to do.”
8:30 pm: Dinner. On tiring days, O’Neill likes to take advantage of the excellent variety of restaurants in her neighborhood. When she has had a lighter schedule, she will head home early to cook.
11 pm: She unwinds with a film, documentary, or book, as well as a small treat. “If I didn’t have dessert out, I usually like to finish with something sweet,” she says. Depending on the season, she might choose ice cream, some chocolate, or fresh fruit.
12 am: Bed. O’Neill tries to be asleep by midnight. “I’m usually one of those people that just hits the pillow and I’m out.”
Days Off
Days off vary at POB, depending on performance schedules. Company policy dictates that the dancers cannot work more than seven days in a row. “I like not being on the same schedule as the rest of Paris,” O’Neill says. “We get to experience it a little bit differently, and it’s less busy if we have a day off during the week.” O’Neill likes to see movies, visit galleries and museums, and attend other performances. As a proud New Zealander, she also follows the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team.
Performance Days
During performances, O’Neill is strategic about which class she takes in the morning. “It depends on if we’re dancing at the Bastille or the Garnier,” she says. The Palais Garnier is a raked stage, and the Opéra Bastille is not.
“The class at 10:45 is on a flat surface, and the 10 and 11:30 classes are on the rake. So if I’m dancing on a rake, I usually like to take the class on a rake,” O’Neill explains.
She then likes to fit in some rehearsal with her partner before heading to her dressing room. “It’s like my second apartment,” she says. She likes to fuel before performances with a filling lunch, often with rice. Then she will take a short nap or rest quietly before taking a shower, getting into hair and makeup, and warming up.
After a performance, O’Neill says she is slow to wind down. She takes another shower in her dressing room and will sometimes use cryotherapy. “I will never, ever not wash my hair,” she says. “I can’t sleep with hair spray in my hair.”
If the performance is on a weekend, she might go out to dinner with fellow dancers and any friends or family who attended. Otherwise, she heads home, puts her flowers in a vase, and goes to bed.
