tomber du plateau

English translation: once the spotlight dims

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	tomber du plateau
English translation:	once the spotlight dims
Entered by:	Philippa Smith

17:18 Jan 26, 2023

French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Theatre/performance

French term or phrase: tomber du plateau

Hello,

I am translating a work of non-fiction that talks a lot about performers and venues. The book was published in the 70s but the content spans from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Phrase in context: "Plaignez les girls que vous voyez danser au music-hall, derrière les rampes. Que deviennent-elles quand elles tombent du plateau ? Une sur mille, sur un million peut-être, devient une étoile."

Does the author really mean "fall from the stage" here? Or simply "leave" the stage? That's what I'm trying to figure out. The way I read it, we are asked to think about "dancing girls" in general rather than ones who make mistakes. Hence "leave" over "fall."

Many thanks for your thoughts,
Anam

A Zafar KudoZ activity Questions: 74 (none open) (2 closed without grading) Answers: 0 United Kingdom
Local time: 00:25

once the spotlight dims

Explanation:
I feel it's definitely about them leaving the stage and their dancing careers behind rather than falling of stage!
Lots of options (my spotlight suggestion goes further in the metaphorical direction):
leave the stage/life on the stage
leave their dancing careers behind them
once the curtains fall for good
etc. etc.
Sounds like a fun book!

Selected response from:

Philippa Smith
Local time: 01:25

Grading comment

Thank you, Philippa. Lots of options to play with here. I especially like the spotlight and curtain ones. I will probably go for one of those!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +6

once the spotlight dims

Philippa Smith

3 +6

when their dancing days are over

Lisa Barrett

break a leg

Bourth

fall out of favour

Natalie Rebecchi

when their stage career is over

Marco Solinas

4 -1

Fall through the cracks

Brittany Sanders

no longer on the scene

Tony M

when they're dropped by the wayside

Andrzej Ziomek

Discussion entries: 10

A Zafar

United Kingdom

ASKER

10:20 Jan 31, 2023

Thanks for your discussion. Lots of food for thought here!

Tony M

France

@ Daryo

08:09 Jan 30, 2023

I think you're stretching things a bit far here!
For one thing, that kind of "elevated platform" is not referred to as a 'plateau' in theatre jargon.
And for another, following your own logic, coming down off the "platform" would seem to imply rather joining the 'star' dancers centre stage.
I think we need to stick closer to the original jargon, and then find an equivalent figurative expression in EN.

Daryo

United Kingdom

If you ever watch old musicals

23:54 Jan 29, 2023

from the 1920s to the 1940s you would often see center stage "the star of the show" [with one or more "spotlight" trained **only on them**] and some (more or less elaborated) elevated platform in the background with dancers.

So "tomber du plateau" would mean "no longer dance on that elevated platform", i.e. no longer be part of the troupe / a troupe dancer.

Preuve par l'absurde: if only very few of these dancing girls LATER succeed in becoming a star, they couldn't have been a star BEFORE "tomber du plateau" => no "spotlight" for them.

Andrzej Ziomek

Poland

09:28 Jan 28, 2023

when the spotlight fades

https://www.realmen247.org/2016/05/spotlight-fades/

Samuël Buysschaert

France

19:04 Jan 26, 2023

@agree with the analysis, it' s definitely a figurative meaning, plateau is a synonym to "les planches or la scène".

Philippa Smith

@Emmanuella

17:51 Jan 26, 2023

Tiens, je ne savais pas, c'est jolie ! Mais je crois qu'ici on ne parle pas de ballerines, c'est des danseuses "music hall"...;-)

Emmanuella

Italy

17:48 Jan 26, 2023

Le plateau est un 'tutu'.
https://www.dansea.fr/tutus-courts/11661-bas-de-tutu-plateau...

Philippa Smith

@Phil

17:39 Jan 26, 2023

It's asking what happens to the dancers who aren't ALREADY stars when their career is over. And "plateau" is not meant to be a literal, technical term I'm pretty sure...

philgoddard

United States

17:37 Jan 26, 2023

But how could any of them become stars if they drop out of the limelight? And are we sure that plateau means stage? Isn't that usually scène?

Tony M

France

@ Asker

17:29 Jan 26, 2023

I feel sure it is intended figuratively, rather in the sense of 'drop out of the limelight'.

Answers

9 mins confidence:

when their stage career is over

Explanation:
This covers both "leave" and "fall".

Marco Solinas
Local time: 16:25
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Italian
PRO pts in category: 4

13 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

once the spotlight dims

Philippa Smith
Local time: 01:25
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 48

Grading comment

Thank you, Philippa. Lots of options to play with here. I especially like the spotlight and curtain ones. I will probably go for one of those!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

José Patrício: ok, it's metaphoric

18 mins

-> Thanks José!

agree

Samuël Buysschaert: "Once the spotlight dims" nice one :)

1 hr

-> Why thank you! Just in that sort of mood...;-)

agree

Anastasia Kalantzi

2 hrs

-> Thanks Anastasia!

agree

Helene Tammik: Nicely conveys how they never quite made it into the limelight :-)

15 hrs

-> Ta love!

agree

Lara Barnett

18 hrs

-> Thanks Lara!

agree

Victoria Britten: Nice!

18 hrs

-> Thanks Victoria!

agree

Carol Gullidge

2 days 47 mins

-> Thanks Carol!

disagree

Daryo: Won't work - not every actor is a star => you can't lose what you never had! // These dancing girls are not "stars", they only provide "background" for the star(s) of the show => the spotlight was never meant for them but ONLY for the "star of the show".

3 days 6 hrs

-> Whoosh

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

when their dancing days are over

Explanation:
This might emphasise the fact that they are not leaving their careers willingly, which seems to be conveyed by the abruptness of the French?

Lisa Barrett
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:25
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English

6 hrs confidence:

break a leg

Explanation:
I'd be tempted to be relatively literal and use this theatrical term (with a different meaning, admittedly) that also evokes race horses (and horses generally) while figuratively meaning the end of a career. They shoot horses, don't they?

Like dancers, one race horse in a thousand or more might go on to be famous, earn loads of money and be on the front pages of magazines or the turf press, while countless others break a leg, literally or figuratively, and, if they are not shot like horses, abandon their career, if only due to disillusionment.

Bourth
France
Local time: 01:25
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 16

23 hrs confidence:

when they're dropped by the wayside

Explanation:
.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 21 hrs (2023-01-29 14:56:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

when the spotlight fades

https://www.realmen247.org/2016/05/spotlight-fades/

'What do you do when all that you have been … all that has brought you success …. and much of what forms your expectations for the future …. is suddenly gone?
A common problem with sports stars who find life unfulfilling once they retire …. but it can also be a problem for ordinary men. [...]'
(and women, e.g. dancers?)

Andrzej Ziomek
Poland
Local time: 01:25
Native speaker of:

Polish

2 days 5 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

Fall through the cracks

Explanation:
"Fall through the cracks" suggests these dancers' careers fizzled out before they could get a big break. Plus it would hit home with the reader: isn't it sad for a dance to fall, figuratively or literally?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days 5 hrs (2023-01-29 22:26:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Since the author is talking about dancers and show business, consider using "when they don't make it".

Brittany Sanders
United States
Local time: 19:25
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English

3 days 14 hrs confidence:

no longer on the scene

Explanation:
I think this could work well enough to suggest former dancers who have dropped down the ranks and possibly are no longer on the stage at all.
Being 'on the scene' suggests more the notion of 'being in fashion', rather than 'on stage', which would tend to be interpreted more literally.

Tony M
France
Local time: 01:25
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 128

4 days confidence:

fall out of favour

Explanation:
The actress has fallen out of favour with the audience / producers / directors as she has got older and other actresses are selected ahead of her. There is no implication that she herself has done anything wrong but just that time has moved on.

Natalie Rebecchi
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:25
Native speaker of: English

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English translation: once the spotlight dims

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