Herman schmerman sylvie guillem biography

(b Paris, 23 Feb. 1965)

French dancer.

Herman schmerman sylvie guillem biography

The most internationally famous ballerina of her generation, for whom the term superballerina was coined. After early training as a gymnast she studied at the Paris Opera Ballet School (1977–80) and joined the Paris Opera Ballet in 1981.

A protégée of Nureyev, possessed of an extraordinarily powerful and supple body and uniquely glamorous stage presence, she quickly came to prominence and created leading roles in a number of ballets, Forsythe's France/Dance (1984), van Dantzig's No Man's Land (1984), Armitage's GV 10 (1984), Child's Premier Orage (1984), Christe's Before Nightfall (1985), and Béjart's Mouvement-Rythme-Étude (1985).

She was promoted to étoile in 1984 after her first performance of Swan Lake. In 1986 she created the leading role in Nureyev's Hollywood-era Cinderella and a principal role in Béjart's Arepo; in 1987 she created a leading role in Forsythe's In the middle somewhat elevated and in Neumeier's Magnif