Dominique Khalfouni (born 1951) is a French

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

. Once a star ( ''étoile'') of 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 ...

and a principal of the

Ballet National de Marseille The Ballet National de Marseille is a dance company based in Marseille, France. The company combines modern dance and classical ballet. Overview The Ballet National de Marseille was founded by the dancer and choreographer Roland Petit in 1972. T ...

, she is now a ballet teacher.

Biography

Born in 1951, she attended the Paris Opera Ballet School from the age of nine, joined 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. ...

'' when she was 16 and became the company's ''étoile'' in 1976. If not dancing, her other career aspirations were to be a musician: violinist or pianist.

Career

In addition to dancing the leads in many of the classics, she performed roles created for her 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. Ea ...

's ''Métaboles'', Oscar Araiz' ''Adagietto'',

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 ''Serait-ce la Mort'' and

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ros ...

's ''Le Fantome de l'Opéra''. In 1980 she left Paris to join the

and the following year she appeared with the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

at the invitation of

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

, to dance ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'' at the Metropolitan Opera House with him. As a star dancer in Marseille, she excelled in ''La Pavlova'' especially created for her by Petit in 1986. After being premiered in Barcelona's

Liceu The Gran Teatre del Liceu (, English: Great Theatre of the Lyceum), known as ''El Liceu'', is an opera house in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Located in La Rambla, it is the oldest running theatre in Barcelona. Founded in 1837 at another loca ...

, the international press referred to her as the greatest French dancer of her time, calling her ballerina assoluta. Turning to teaching by the end of the 1990s, she lived and worked in Paris. Her two children,

Mathieu Ganio Mathieu Ganio (born 16 March 1984) is a French ''danseur étoile'' of the Paris Opera Ballet. Mathieu Ganio was born in Marseille, France, the son of Ballet National de Marseille principal dancers Dominique Khalfouni and Denys Ganio. He began da ...

and Marine Ganio, are both dancers with the Paris Opera Ballet.

Awards

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

(1987) *

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

(1995)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khalfouni Prima ballerinas 1951 births Paris Opera Ballet étoiles Prix Benois de la Danse winners Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Living people French ballerinas