Alice Renavand is a French ballet dancer. After joining the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

in 1997, she became a principal in 2012 and a star (''danseuse étoile'') in December 2013. Shortly afterwards, she was described as having "''la beauté du diable''" (the beauty of the devil) as Lizzie in ''

Fall River Legend ''Fall River Legend'' is a ballet by American choreographer Agnes de Mille. While the ballet tells the infamous story of Lizzie Borden, it notably alters the outcome of court case, with Borden receiving a guilty verdict rather than an acquittal. D ...

''.

Early life

Born in Paris, Renavand has a French father and a Vietnamese mother. Her decision to take up ballet resulted from her father's suggestion that she should make a list of what she would like to do with her spare time. As her first choice was dancing, she took lessons at the Conservatoire de Garches. In 1989, only a few months later, she was admitted to the

Paris Opera Ballet School The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

at the age of nine, receiving the support and friendship of Claude Bessy.

Career

After graduating from the Ballet School, Renavand joined the Paris Opera Ballet in 1997. Although she progressed well in the ''

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

'', she had a rough time for the first few years putting on too much weight. Thanks to the encouragement of

Brigitte Lefèvre Brigitte Lefèvre (born 15 November 1944) is a French ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher. She was director of the Paris Opera Ballet from 1995 to 2014. Early life and education Lefèvre attended the Paris Opera Ballet School from the age of ...

, she was able to revitalize her approach, losing in a year. Further support came from

Angelin Preljocaj Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance. Early life Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanian descent. Career His choreographic work is steeped ...

in 2004 who allowed her to replace an injured colleague as Creüse in his ''Le Songe de Médée'', giving her more confidence in her abilities. She was then invited by

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance m ...

to dance Eurydice in her ''Orphée et Eurydice''. In the following year, she was given roles in

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French-born dancer, choreographer and opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, talking vast th ...

's ''

The Rite of Spring , image = Roerich Rite of Spring.jpg , image_size = 350px , caption = Concept design for act 1, part of Nicholas Roerich's designs for Diaghilev's 1913 production of ' , composer = Igor Stravinsky , based_on ...

'', William Forsythe's ''Approximate Sonata'' and ''

The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude ''The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude'' is a ballet choreographed by William Forsythe (choreographer), William Forsythe to the finale of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 (Schubert), Symphony No. 9. The ballet was choreographed for 's programme ''Six Co ...

'',

Jiří Kylián Jiří Kylián (born 21 March 1947) is a Czech former dancer and contemporary dance choreographer. Life Jiří Kylián was born in 1947 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to his father Václav who was a banker and to his mother Markéta, who was as a ...

's ''

Bella Figura Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. ''Bella'' is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, to the name Belle, meaning ''beautiful'' in French. It increased in ...

'' and

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

's ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'' in which she performed The Street Dancer. Renavand won the ''Association pour le rayonnement de l'Opéra national de Paris'' (AROP) prize in 2008. That year, she danced roles in ''

'', ''The House of Bernarda'', ''In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated'', ''Kaguyahime'', ''Phèdre'', ''Les Enfants du paradis'', ''

The Three-Cornered Hat ''El sombrero de tres picos'' (''The Three-Cornered Hat'' or ''Le tricorne'') is a ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine to music by Manuel de Falla. It was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev and premiered in 1919. It is not only a ballet with S ...

'', ''Genus'', ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especiall ...

'', ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', ''

Le Jeune homme et la mort ''Le Jeune Homme et la Mort'' is a ballet by Roland Petit, choreographed in 1946 to Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with a one-act libretto by Jean Cocteau. It tells the story of a young man driven to suicide by his faithless ...

'', ''Siddharta'', and ''Psyché''. In 2012, she was promoted to principal (''première danseuse''), performing the roles of Kitri in Nureyev's ''Don Quixote'' and the Mistress of Lescaut in

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. E ...

's ''

L'histoire de Manon ''L'histoire de Manon'', generally referred to as ''Manon'', is a ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to music by Jules Massenet and based on the 1731 novel '' Manon Lescaut'' by Abbé Prévost. The ballet was first performed by The Royal ...

''. In December 2013, she was elevated to the rank of star (''danseuse étoile'') after dancing the main female role for the first time in Preljocaj's ''Le Parc''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renavand, Alice Prima ballerinas French ballerinas Living people Paris Opera Ballet étoiles 21st-century ballet dancers Year of birth missing (living people)