Mathilde Froustey (born June 8, 1985, in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, France) is a French ballet dancer. She is a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

. Mathilde Froustey was a "Sujet" soloist 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 ...

until 2013.

Early life

Mathilde Froustey started dancing in 1994, at the age of nine, in

Dax Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...

in the south of France, because ballet training was helpful for her back problems.Artist Spotlight Mathilde Froustey
4:11 min, 4 July 2015 Later, in 1998, she trained at the Marseille National School of Ballet.Mathilde Froustey
, site of the San Francisco Ballet. Colette Armand, her ballet teacher in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, recommended she audition for the prestigious

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 ...

Paris Opera Ballet

Mathilde Froustey started at Paris Opera Ballet School in 1999 and joined

in 2002. She was promoted to the rank of "Coryphée" in 2003. In 2004, she won the gold medal at the

Varna International Ballet Competition The Varna International Ballet Competition is a biennial ballet competition held in Varna, Bulgaria. The competition was founded in 1964 and subsequently held in 1965 and 1966, and then every two years starting in 1968. Many dancers have gained the ...

with Josua Hoffalt. In 2005, Froustey was promoted to "Sujet", soloist. Froustey was one of the founding members of

3e étage 3e étage (from the French 'Third Floor') is a dance company founded in 2004 by dancer-choreographer Samuel Murez, and based in Paris, France. 3e étage dancers are all members of the Paris Opera Ballet, but the administrative and artistic direction ...

, an independent group of Paris Opera Ballet dancers directed by

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 ...

. She toured in Japan with

Manuel Legris Manuel Legris is a French ballet dancer, born in Paris on October 10, 1964. He was an ''étoile'' (star dancer) of the Paris Opera Ballet for 23 years. On September 1, 2010, he began direction of the Vienna State Ballet. He was appointed artisti ...

as a member of his group Manuel Legris & Friends. Manuel Legris, at the time principal dancer ("danseur étoile") of the Paris Opera Ballet, inspired many young gifted dansers several of which became "danseurs étoiles" themselves some time later.

Becoming a principal dancer

Although Mathilde Froustey appeared on stage in leading roles with the Paris Opera Ballet as of 2006, particularly 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 Wester ...

, she was not promoted to "Première Danseuse", first soloist, with this company. Artistic director,

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 ...

, could not explain why the jury consistently didn’t vote for her. Some ventured that her style was too extroverted and virtuosic for Paris, where restraint and purity are valued.Time to Shine
article by Laura Capelle, 28 March 2014,

Pointe Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () when ...

. During her career, Mathilde Froustey met artistic directors of prestigious ballet companies on several occasions when the directors were in the audience of ballet performances. She was on particularly good terms with Helgi Tómasson and

, who both appreciated her as a soloist. After he had seen her dancing as Lise in

La Fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

in Paris in July 2012, Manuel Legris offered her a position in the

Vienna State Ballet Vienna State Ballet, ''Wiener Staatsballett'', is considered one of the world's top ballet companies. It was formerly named the Vienna State Opera Ballet as it is based at the Vienna State Opera building. In 2005 the ballets of the Vienna State ...

as principal dancer, telling her at the same time to stay the Paris Opera Ballet a little bit more. Mathilde Froustey didn't wait too long. She was the first top-notch dancer leaving the Paris Opera Ballet for years.

San Francisco Ballet

In January 2013, Mathilde Froustey accepted an offer from Helgi Tómasson, to become a

with the

.Interview with Mathilde Froustey, the new SFB Principal
by Amélie Bertrand, 25 June 2013. Mathilde Froustey and Helgi Tómasson met each other already in 2006 at a competition in Paris through José Martinez, danseur étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet. When she made a long-distance call inquiring about a job there, a contract arrived in the mail a week later. This was the first time that a principal dancer entered the San Francisco Ballet by bypassing the audition process.Mathilde Froustey: from France to S.F. Ballet, with panache
article by Allan Ulrich, July 5, 2014,

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

On Stage

Kitri in

is Mathilde Froustey's dream role. She was appreciated for her interpretation of Lise in

La Fille Mal Gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

. "Froustey was the Lise that dreams are made of." "''The queen of the night, undeniably Mathilde Froustey, is however not any longer in the stage of a young soloist making her debut. Her Lise is a whirlwind of good mood, spiced with a refined technique which lets her fly away in each variation''." In the 2014 repertory season, her first repertory season with the San Francisco ballet, she performed the title role in

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, ...

a role she learned in ten days. Mathilde Froustey considers Giselle as one of her favourite roles.

with Mathilde FrousteyThe San Francisco Ballet presents each ballet with changing principal dancers in the leading role. was in the programming of the 2015 repertory season as well.

Awards

* 2004:

, gold medal with Josua Hoffalt * 2007: Ballet2000 dance prize * 2013: Danza & Danza's best foreign dancer award * 2015:

Isadora Duncan Dance Award The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards or Izzies honor San Francisco Bay Area dance artists for outstanding achievements in a range of categories including: choreography, sustained achievement, individual performance, company performance, costume design, a ...

for her performances of Giselle with Tiit Helimets * 2018: Nominated to the Isadora Duncan Dance Award for her performance in Sleeping Beauty (Aurora)

Repertoire

* Kitri in

: * Lise in

* Anastasia in "Ivan the Terrible" * Giselle in

* Nutcracker (Grand Pas de Deux Ballerina and Sugar Plum Fairy) * Romeo and Juliet (Juliet) *

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

(Odette/Odile) * 7 for Eight * Caprice * The Fifth Season * Prism, and Trio * Tomasson/Possokhov's Don Quixote (Kitri) * Cranko's Onegin (Tatiana) * Balanchine's Allegro Brillante, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, Rubies, Serenade, and Theme and Variations * Gsovsky's Grand Pas Classique * Lifar's Suite en Blanc * Makarova's (after Petipa) “The Kingdom of the Shades” from La Bayadère, Act II (1st Solo Shade) * Ratmansky's From Foreign Lands, Seven Sonatas, Shostakovich Trilogy, and Souvenir d’un lieu cher * Robbins’ Dances at a Gathering (Yellow and Purple) and In the Night * Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour.

References

External links

Profile Mathilde Froustey
site of the San Francisco Ballet
Five minutes With ... Mathilde Froustey
site of the San Francisco Ballet
Mathilde Froustey: from France to S.F. Ballet, with panache
5 July 2014
Interview with Mathilde Froustey, the new SFB Principal
25 June 2013
Time to Shine
profile of Mathilde Froustey, 28 March 2014,

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frousley, Mathilde 1985 births Paris Opera Ballet dancers Living people San Francisco Ballet principal dancers French ballerinas