La Dernière Répétition
The Last Rehearsal
A dancer in a Papeete dance troupe seems to be preparing to leave, and the others piece it together from small clues he never puts into words.
- change
- unspoken goodbyes
- community
Tap an underlined word to see its meaning.
What you'll encounter
- Grammar
- imparfait for ongoing routine
- plus-que-parfait for backstory
- subjunctive-lite after avant que + avoir
- Vocabulary
- dance and performance vocabulary
- abstract nouns (le signe, le doute, l'adieu)
- Skills
- piecing together a character's unstated plan from accumulated small clues
- accepting an ending that never confirms the inference
La troupe de danse traditionnelle dirigée par Tumata répétait chaque soir, depuis six mois déjà, après le travail, dans un petit ouvert aux vents du lagon, à la périphérie de Papeete, en vue du grand spectacle du Heiva prévu pour la fin du mois.
Show English
For six months, the traditional dance troupe led by Tumata had been rehearsing every evening after work, in a small open-sided fare exposed to the lagoon winds, on the outskirts of Papeete, ahead of the big Heiva show planned for the end of the month.
Tumata dirigeait cette troupe depuis la mort de son propre professeur, dix ans plus tôt, et il avait hérité, avec la direction, la responsabilité de maintenir vivantes des chorégraphies transmises oralement depuis plusieurs générations, sans jamais être écrites nulle part.
Show English
Tumata had led this troupe since his own teacher's death, ten years earlier, and along with the leadership, he had inherited the responsibility of keeping alive choreographies passed down orally across several generations, never written down anywhere.
Teiki, l’un des danseurs les plus expérimentés du groupe, répétait avec la troupe depuis presque dix ans, et son énergie sur scène, en particulier pendant les percussions les plus rapides, avait toujours impressionné les nouveaux venus.
Show English
Teiki, one of the most experienced dancers in the group, had been rehearsing with the troupe for almost ten years, and his energy on stage, especially during the fastest drumming, had always impressed newcomers.
Ces dernières semaines, pourtant, Hinano, qui dansait à côté de lui depuis le début, avait remarqué chez Teiki une attention particulière, presque inhabituelle, à chaque petit détail des répétitions, comme s’il cherchait à graver chaque mouvement dans sa mémoire plus profondément que d’habitude.
Show English
In recent weeks, though, Hinano, who had danced next to him from the start, had noticed in Teiki a particular, almost unusual attention to every small detail of the rehearsals, as if he were trying to carve each movement into his memory more deeply than usual.
Un soir, après la répétition, Teiki a offert à Tama, le plus jeune danseur de la troupe, son propre costume de scène, celui qu’il portait depuis des années, en expliquant simplement qu’il en avait un autre et que Tama, selon lui, le mettrait mieux en valeur désormais.
Show English
One evening, after rehearsal, Teiki gave Tama, the youngest dancer in the troupe, his own stage costume, the one he had worn for years, simply explaining that he had another one and that Tama, in his opinion, would show it off better from now on.
Tama, flatté mais un peu surpris, a d’abord refusé poliment, avant d’accepter devant l’insistance de Teiki, sans se rendre compte, contrairement à Hinano, de ce que ce geste pouvait réellement signifier.
Show English
Tama, flattered but a little surprised, first politely refused, before accepting at Teiki's insistence, without realizing, unlike Hinano, what the gesture might really mean.
Hinano a trouvé ce geste étrange, puisque Teiki avait toujours refusé, par le passé, de se séparer de ce costume précis, qu’il considérait, disait-il souvent en riant, comme son porte-bonheur personnel.
Show English
Hinano found this gesture strange, since Teiki had always refused, in the past, to part with that particular costume, which he often jokingly called his personal good-luck charm.
Quelques jours plus tard, en passant devant l’agence maritime du port, Hinano a aperçu Teiki à l’intérieur, en pleine discussion avec un employé, un dossier de documents ouvert devant lui sur le comptoir, mais elle n’a pas osé entrer pour lui demander ce qu’il faisait là.
Show English
A few days later, walking past the harbor's shipping agency, Hinano glimpsed Teiki inside, deep in conversation with an employee, a folder of documents open on the counter in front of him, but she didn't dare go in to ask him what he was doing there.
Pendant les répétitions suivantes, Teiki a commencé à prendre discrètement des photos du groupe entre deux chorégraphies, cadrant chaque fois l’ensemble de la troupe plutôt que lui-même, ce qui n’était pas son habitude.
Show English
During the following rehearsals, Teiki started quietly taking photos of the group between dances, each time framing the whole troupe rather than himself, which wasn't like him at all.
Un soir, il a même demandé à un jeune danseur de prendre une photo de lui, seul cette fois, devant le fare, dans une posture presque solennelle, bien différente de celle qu’il adoptait habituellement sur scène.
Show English
One evening, he even asked a young dancer to take a photo of him, alone this time, in front of the fare, in an almost solemn pose, very different from the one he usually struck on stage.
Tumata, de son côté, a remarqué que Teiki restait systématiquement le dernier à quitter le fare après les répétitions, comme s’il voulait profiter du lieu un peu plus longtemps que les autres avant de rentrer chez lui.
Show English
Tumata, for his part, noticed that Teiki was systematically the last to leave the fare after rehearsals, as if he wanted to enjoy the place a little longer than the others before going home.
Hinano a fini par rassembler, sans vraiment le vouloir, tous ces petits signes, le costume offert, les papiers à l’agence maritime, les photos du groupe entier, le temps supplémentaire passé dans le fare vide, et une idée s’est imposée à elle, qu’elle n’osait pas encore formuler clairement, même pour elle-même.
Show English
Hinano eventually put together, without really meaning to, all these small signs, the gifted costume, the papers at the shipping agency, the photos of the whole group, the extra time spent in the empty fare, and an idea took shape in her mind, one she didn't yet dare put into words, even to herself.
Hinano et Teiki dansaient côte à côte depuis l’adolescence, et elle le considérait, plus que n’importe qui d’autre dans la troupe, comme un frère plutôt que comme un simple partenaire de scène, ce qui rendait cette possible vérité d’autant plus difficile à accepter.
Show English
Hinano and Teiki had danced side by side since their teenage years, and she thought of him, more than anyone else in the troupe, as a brother rather than simply a stage partner, which made this possible truth even harder to accept.
Elle a hésité, pendant plusieurs jours, à en parler directement à Teiki, craignant de se tromper complètement ou, pire encore, de révéler malgré elle quelque chose qu’il n’était peut-être pas encore prêt à partager avec le reste de la troupe.
Show English
She hesitated, for several days, to talk to Teiki directly about it, afraid of being completely wrong, or worse, of revealing, without meaning to, something he might not be ready yet to share with the rest of the troupe.
Le soir de la dernière répétition avant le spectacle, alors que tout le monde rangeait les costumes et les instruments, Hinano a surpris Teiki en train de regarder longuement le fare vide, les lumières éteintes une à une autour de lui, avec une expression qu’elle n’avait jamais vue chez lui auparavant.
Show English
On the evening of the last rehearsal before the show, while everyone was putting away costumes and instruments, Hinano caught Teiki gazing for a long moment at the empty fare, its lights going out one by one around him, with an expression she had never seen on him before.
Elle s’est approchée doucement et lui a simplement demandé, sans accusation dans la voix, s’il comptait toujours être présent à la prochaine répétition, dans un mois, pour préparer le spectacle de l’année suivante.
Show English
She came over quietly and simply asked him, with no accusation in her voice, whether he still planned to be there for the next rehearsal, in a month, to prepare the following year's show.
Teiki a mis un long moment avant de répondre, puis a souri tristement, sans vraiment confirmer ni nier quoi que ce soit, se contentant de dire qu’il fallait d’abord profiter pleinement du spectacle de cette année, et que l’année suivante s’occuperait d’elle-même.
Show English
Teiki took a long moment before answering, then smiled sadly, without really confirming or denying anything, saying only that they should first fully enjoy this year's show, and that next year would take care of itself.
Hinano n’a pas insisté davantage, et le soir du Heiva, elle a dansé à côté de lui comme toujours, remarquant simplement, pendant les applaudissements finaux, que Teiki fermait les yeux un peu plus longtemps que nécessaire, comme s’il voulait garder cet instant précis pour longtemps.
Show English
Hinano didn't press further, and on the night of the Heiva, she danced next to him as always, noticing only, during the final applause, that Teiki kept his eyes closed a little longer than necessary, as if wanting to hold on to that exact moment for a long time.
Ni elle ni personne d’autre dans la troupe n’a jamais pu dire avec certitude si Teiki était resté ou parti après cette soirée-là, puisque, d’une façon ou d’une autre, il semblait avoir déjà commencé à leur dire au revoir, longtemps avant que la question ne soit vraiment posée à voix haute.
Show English
Neither she nor anyone else in the troupe ever knew for certain whether Teiki had stayed or left after that evening, since, one way or another, he seemed to have already begun saying goodbye to them long before the question was ever really asked out loud.
Show full English translation
For six months, the traditional dance troupe led by Tumata had been rehearsing every evening after work, in a small open-sided fare exposed to the lagoon winds, on the outskirts of Papeete, ahead of the big Heiva show planned for the end of the month.
Tumata had led this troupe since his own teacher's death, ten years earlier, and along with the leadership, he had inherited the responsibility of keeping alive choreographies passed down orally across several generations, never written down anywhere.
Teiki, one of the most experienced dancers in the group, had been rehearsing with the troupe for almost ten years, and his energy on stage, especially during the fastest drumming, had always impressed newcomers.
In recent weeks, though, Hinano, who had danced next to him from the start, had noticed in Teiki a particular, almost unusual attention to every small detail of the rehearsals, as if he were trying to carve each movement into his memory more deeply than usual.
One evening, after rehearsal, Teiki gave Tama, the youngest dancer in the troupe, his own stage costume, the one he had worn for years, simply explaining that he had another one and that Tama, in his opinion, would show it off better from now on.
Tama, flattered but a little surprised, first politely refused, before accepting at Teiki's insistence, without realizing, unlike Hinano, what the gesture might really mean.
Hinano found this gesture strange, since Teiki had always refused, in the past, to part with that particular costume, which he often jokingly called his personal good-luck charm.
A few days later, walking past the harbor's shipping agency, Hinano glimpsed Teiki inside, deep in conversation with an employee, a folder of documents open on the counter in front of him, but she didn't dare go in to ask him what he was doing there.
During the following rehearsals, Teiki started quietly taking photos of the group between dances, each time framing the whole troupe rather than himself, which wasn't like him at all.
One evening, he even asked a young dancer to take a photo of him, alone this time, in front of the fare, in an almost solemn pose, very different from the one he usually struck on stage.
Tumata, for his part, noticed that Teiki was systematically the last to leave the fare after rehearsals, as if he wanted to enjoy the place a little longer than the others before going home.
Hinano eventually put together, without really meaning to, all these small signs, the gifted costume, the papers at the shipping agency, the photos of the whole group, the extra time spent in the empty fare, and an idea took shape in her mind, one she didn't yet dare put into words, even to herself.
Hinano and Teiki had danced side by side since their teenage years, and she thought of him, more than anyone else in the troupe, as a brother rather than simply a stage partner, which made this possible truth even harder to accept.
She hesitated, for several days, to talk to Teiki directly about it, afraid of being completely wrong, or worse, of revealing, without meaning to, something he might not be ready yet to share with the rest of the troupe.
On the evening of the last rehearsal before the show, while everyone was putting away costumes and instruments, Hinano caught Teiki gazing for a long moment at the empty fare, its lights going out one by one around him, with an expression she had never seen on him before.
She came over quietly and simply asked him, with no accusation in her voice, whether he still planned to be there for the next rehearsal, in a month, to prepare the following year's show.
Teiki took a long moment before answering, then smiled sadly, without really confirming or denying anything, saying only that they should first fully enjoy this year's show, and that next year would take care of itself.
Hinano didn't press further, and on the night of the Heiva, she danced next to him as always, noticing only, during the final applause, that Teiki kept his eyes closed a little longer than necessary, as if wanting to hold on to that exact moment for a long time.
Neither she nor anyone else in the troupe ever knew for certain whether Teiki had stayed or left after that evening, since, one way or another, he seemed to have already begun saying goodbye to them long before the question was ever really asked out loud.
Words to know
- fare
- — traditional open-sided house