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Today I am talking about a French TV show called "Prodiges". There were only two shows (semi-final and final) a year, in December for the "classical" version, but this year they added a "pop" version for this talent show, centered on 3 disciplines: singing, dancing and playing an instrument... for children under 16 years of age. With all these talent shows on every TV channel, what is the difference ? for example with "... got talent" or "the voice kids" ? It's hard to say, but these kids love what they do and share that joy.
The problem with children's talent shows is to protect the children from the hardness of competition. They are performing arts and art is not a competition. It's something creative, with a lot of work, with the difficulty of sharing an emotion, a feeling with the audience. How often do these children appear as "trained monkeys", pushed by their parents, repeating or imitating like robots. I'm not interested in that (nor in talent shows in general). But here I don't really know why I'm smiling, watching the show... except one year when they pushed the parents and families to talk a lot about their wonderful child. Sometimes the real "hero" of the talent show is the jury. Here, it's made up of stars of the discipline : Patrick Dupond and now Marie-Claude Pietragalla, two former "danseur étoile" of the Paris Opera, Gautier Capuçon, the famous cellist, Elizabeth Vidal, a famous soprano. ...and now, for the new pop version, Ibrahim Maalouf, the Lebanese trumpeter, Bianca Li, the choreographer, and Chimène Badi, a French singer with a fantastic voice (for songs, it depends...) and...who was discovered in a talent show (she lost...). But the Jury is not doing its show, with very words of kindness for the children.
I spoke of two versions: Classical and Pop. The original show featured classical music, classical dance and opera singing. The show takes place with a symphonic orchestra (Divertimento conducted by Zahia Ziouani... a film was made about it (1) ) and each contestant has 3 minutes to perform. 5 candidates per category for the semi-final and 3 for the final. The difficulty for instruments is to compare different techniques at different ages. For dance it's also difficult to compare because they are still learning such a difficult art. The easiest to compare are singers. Some of the winners have gone on to have careers, like Camille Bertholet for violin, Melvin Lawovi for dance, who is now with the American Ballet Theatre. But most of them chose other paths, keeping their art as a hobby, not a job. I remember the young Marin playing the clarinet when he was 12. Or little Lynn at 10 playing the cello like a pro. The professional world is so difficult for musicians...They are maybe not the most talented prodigies in their art, but so good ambassadors.
When you look at them (2), you sometimes get complexes about singing, dancing or playing an instrument. But it's also nice to see a child perform like that, because it gives the impression that it's easy and that it's a game. OK, it's always work to get to that level. They are "prodiges" (prodigies) and learn faster than you do now... But it can perhaps create a vocation. They show the work of teachers, choreographers and trainers throughout the country. France has the chance to have many schools, music academies... because the arts are not taught very much in "normal" schools or colleges. You're not going to make «Glee» in France, if you know what I mean.
I was a bit skeptical before I saw the pop version, but it was a good year with a fantastic drummer, a good guitarist and 5 great dancers. The winner (a dancer) was not my choice as I preferred another dancer in a more hip-hop and less athletic style... but I think the public and the jury want something consensual and easy to «understand». I remember a talent show for dancers, very different from "Dancing with the Stars", more like the British "Greatest Dancer", where the public voted. It was disastrous because they chose in the wrong way, with a selection of the best dancers in the country and a jury trying to explain how to appreciate their performance. There are so many techniques and styles and it's difficult to look at that without a minimum of culture .... or hearing for musicians and singers.
The winner is not going to make a movie, a record or something like that. The award is accompanied by a scholarship of € 10 000. The real winner is the art they are practicing with talent. Some schools opened in overseas territories and send contestants to show that it's possible to do that and not only for a wealthy elite. The conductor of the orchestra is the proof of that…
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