Léonore Baulac (born 10 May 1990) is a French ballet dancer. She is an '' étoile'' at 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 ...

Early life

Baulac was born in Paris to a Norwegian-born mother. When Baulac was ten, she did not participate in the entrance exam 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 ...

. She only decided to pursue a career in ballet a year later, but could not enter the school at that time as she was too old. Therefore, she trained with a private teacher. At age 13, she started training at

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. She learned contemporary dance there. In 2005, at age 15, Baulac finally entered Paris Opera Ballet School as a paying student.

Career

In 2008, Baulac joined the

's corps de ballet. She only had a handful of opportunities during her first few years in the company. She also danced with

Samuel Murez Samuel Murez, born October 22, 1982, is a Franco-American director, choreographer, film-maker, editor, composer, producer, and dancer. He has been a member of the Paris Opera Ballet since 2001. He has been the artistic director of 3e étage, an ...

's 3e étage. In 2014, when she was considering leaving the company, she was promoted to ''

coryphée 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 ...

''. She was trained by

Aurélie Dupont Aurélie Dupont (born 15 January 1973 in Paris) is a French ballet dancer who performed with the Paris Opera Ballet as an '' Étoile''. She began her career in dance in 1983 when she entered the Paris Opera Ballet School (''L’École de danse de ...

for her ''coryphée'' exam.

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...

became the artistic director later that year, and Baulac was immediately cast in ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

''. She was promoted to ''sujet'' in 2015 and ''première danseuse'' a year later. In 2016, Baulac was assigned to understudy Odette/Odile in '' Swan Lake'', and replaced an injured dancer on 31 December. After her performance, Dupont, now the artistic director, promoted Baulac to '' étoile'' on stage. She has danced roles such as Kitri in ''

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 ...

'', Juliet in '' Romeo and Juliet'' and The Sylph in ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. ...

''. She also created roles for William Forsythe's ''Blake Works I'' and Crystal Pite's ''Body and Soul''.

Selected repertoire

Baulac's repertoire with the Paris Opera Ballet includes:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baulac, Léonore Paris Opera Ballet étoiles Living people 1989 births 21st-century French ballet dancers Conservatoire de Paris alumni French ballerinas French people of Norwegian descent Prima ballerinas