In a dance studio in Mile End, Éric Gaudry performs a few movements on the barre.
“If you only knew the pleasure I have in doing that”, he says, a smile on his lips, while the photographer of Press takes his portrait. Camille Rouleau, founder of the Ballet Hop! Studio, guides the beginner. Arabesque, pointe and plié follow one another in this short improvised dance session. “Looks like you’ve been doing this your whole life,” the instructor drops. Perhaps the 72-year-old’s ease comes from the fact that he hoped for this moment for a large part of his life …
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Camille Rouleau, founder of Ballet Hop !, shows Éric Gaudry a few movements.
A little guy’s dream
As a child, in the 1950s, Eric Gaudry would never have had the audacity to practice ballet.
I was in Quebec. I came from a small bourgeois background. You had to become a lawyer, doctor, notary or engineer. […] A little guy who did ballet, it was unthinkable.
Eric Gaudry
He later came very close to fulfilling his dream following an audition, but life instead placed another art form in his path. Paul Hébert, founder of the Théâtre du Trident in Quebec City, offered him a role in the play Charbonneau and the Chef. “In the end, I played 360 times with Jean Duceppe,” he said, quite simply.
Despite the theater, then television and dubbing (he notably lends his voice to Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones and Liam Neeson), the desire to do ballet has never disappeared. “What I found the most beautiful in the world was ballet,” he says.
“No frills”
When he learned about the lessons offered at Ballet Hop !, he felt challenged. “A class called ‘No frills’ was perfect for me, because at my age I’m a little afraid of looking like an elephant,” he laughs.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Éric Gaudry, 72 years old
“We have people of all ages, all shapes, all levels of experience,” explains Camille Rouleau, whose studio offers “benevolent training”.
We really have a great diversity [de clients] and that’s good, because that’s what we exist for.
Camille Rouleau, founder of the Ballet Hop studio!
At 72 years old, Eric Gaudry finds that he is less flexible than in his younger years. “I put on a lot of Voltaren,” he tells the instructor. “It’s okay, he’s a dancers best friend,” she replies.
But since he started training less than two years ago, Eric Gaudry has especially noticed the benefits on his physical and mental health. Goodbye, knee pain! “I jump up the stairs,” he enthuses.
A source of inspiration
As if he wanted to make up for lost time, Éric Gaudry is enrolled in many classes at Ballet Hop! and in other studios. “I have a class on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,” he lists. However, he notices that he is often the only man.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Éric Gaudry, during a lesson at the Ballet Hop studio! donated by its founder, Camille Rouleau
Camille Rouleau estimates that at Ballet Hop !, men represent around 1% of the clientele. “That’s it, I’m always on my own,” notes Éric Gaudry.
“We try to be as neutral and inviting as possible for everyone,” explains the founder of the studio. She would like the story of Eric Gaudry to inspire other men or other seniors to do like him. “We are not really performance oriented. We are benevolent, ”she recalls.
This vision of ballet, moreover, she wishes to transmit it throughout Quebec. To achieve this, she is setting up a franchise network through which she would like to allow women to go into business.
Hearing this project, Éric Gaudry draws a parallel with his own history. “It’s like the little guy in 1950 who thinks he can’t do ballet…” “There may be women in 2021 who think they can’t go into business , complete Camille Rouleau. Look how beautiful the link is. We are breaking myths on both sides. Eric, you will become our ambassador. ”