Laetitia Pujol (born 8 October 1975) is a French ballet dancer. She joined 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 1993, becoming a principal in 2000 and a star (étoile) in 2002.

Early life

Born in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, she started to dance ballet when she was eight but was not admitted to the Conservatoire régional de Toulouse until 1992. After she won first prize at the Lausanne Ballet Competition the following year, she was able to proceed immediately to the final year of 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 ...

. There she danced Lise in Claude Bessy's ''

La fille mal gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. 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 Smi ...

''. Pujol graduated in 1993 at the age of 18.

Career

After joining the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

's corps de ballet, she became a principal in 2000, which provided opportunities for her to dance Polyhymnia in

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

's ''

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

'', Catherine in Kader Belarbi's ''Wuthering Heights'', Henriette in ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

'' and Clara in ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

''.

Jiri Kylian Jiri () is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the main gateway to the ...

chose her to dance the pas de trois in the First Act of

Pierre Lacotte Pierre Lacotte (4 April 1932 – 10 April 2023) was a French ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director. He specialised in the reconstruction of lost choreographies of romantic ballets. Early life Lacotte was born on 4 April 19 ...

's adaptation of ''

Paquita ''Paquita'' is a ballet in two acts and three scenes originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. Paul Foucher received royalties as librettist. History ''Paquita'' is the creation of French c ...

''. In May 2002, after she stood in for

Clairemarie Osta Clairemarie Osta (born 1970) is a French ballet dancer who performed with the Paris Opera Ballet as an '' étoile''. In 2017, she became the head of the ballet department at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Early life Osta was born in Nice, and s ...

, dancing Kitri for the first time in

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

's ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', Pujol received the prestigious title of étoile. More recent additions to her repertoire include leading roles in Balanchine's ballets '' Symphony in C'', ''

The Four Temperaments ''The Four Temperaments'' or Theme and Four Variations (''The Four Temperaments'') is an orchestral work and ballet by Paul Hindemith. Although it was originally conceived as a ballet for Léonide Massine, the score was ultimately completed a ...

'', ''

Concerto Barocco ''Concerto Barocco'' is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Bach's Concerto for Two Violins. Danced by a cast of eleven, the ballet is completely plotless, and according to Balanchine, "has no "subject matter" beyond the ...

'', '' Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux'', ''

Agon () is the Greek personification for a conflict, struggle or contest, describing a concept of the same name. This could be a contest in athletics, in chariot or horse racing, or in music or literature at a public festival in ancient Greece. i ...

'' and ''

Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

''. She has also danced Nathalie in José Martinez' ''Les Enfants du paradis'', the title role in

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He was the director and principal choreographer of Hamburg Ballet from 1973 to 2024 and the artistic director of the ballet at the Hamburg State ...

's '' Sylvia'' and the Young Girl in

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 Ro ...

's ''Le Loup''. Pujol retired from the Paris Opera Ballet on 23 September 2017, following a performance of Balanchine's "Emeralds" and the final pas de deux from Neumeier's ''Sylvia''.

Awards

In addition to the Lausanne medal in 1992, Laetitia Pujol has received the Silver Medal (juniors) at the 1994 Varna International Competition and, in 1997, the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pujol, Laetitia 1975 births French prima ballerinas Living people Entertainers from Toulouse Paris Opera Ballet étoiles Prix de Lausanne winners