Guillem, Sylvie

▪ 2003

      When Sylvie Guillem was first seen on the ballet stage, it was her extraordinary, and seemingly effortless, extension that caught the public's attention. By 2002, however, it was widely accepted that she had developed into a multifaceted dramatic dancer with intelligence and depth, shining in both classical ballets, such as Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadère, and The Sleeping Beauty, and modern works, including In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated and Herman Schmerman, and winning a number of awards internationally. She was a welcome guest at companies throughout the world and also had branched out into choreography.

      Guillem was born on Feb. 23, 1965, in Paris. When she was very young, she began receiving gymnastics training under the supervision of her mother, a gymnastics teacher. Early on, it was apparent that she had natural ability and astonishing flexibility, and she soon was enjoying success on the competition circuit. She came to the attention of the director of the Paris Opéra Ballet School, however, and was offered a place at the school. She studied there from 1977 to 1980 and in 1981, at the age of 16, entered the company's corps de ballet. She advanced rapidly through the ranks and, her reputation buoyed by a gold-medal win at the Varna (Bulg.) International Ballet Competition in 1983, was featured later that year in her first solo appearance, dancing the Queen of the Driads in the version of Don Quixote staged by Rudolf Nureyev. As artistic director of the company, Nureyev gave Guillem the opportunity to expand her range by dancing solo and principal roles both in his stagings of the classics and in ballets by contemporary choreographers, including George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Roland Petit, and Rudi van Dantzig. In addition, following her performance in Nureyev's Swan Lake in December 1984, she was promoted to the company's highest rank for a female, étoile, the youngest in the company's history. Nureyev frequently chose her to dance as his partner, and in 1988, when Britain's Royal Ballet celebrated Nureyev's 50th birthday by having him dance in a production of Giselle, Guillem was given the title role. She was an overwhelming success, and the following year, after she had left the Paris Opéra Ballet, she became a permanent guest artist with the Royal Ballet, a status that allowed her to accept engagements with other companies.

      In 1995 Guillem was commissioned to create a dance program for television. The result of her efforts, Evidentia, included five modern works as well as archival footage, and the program and its individual ballets were honoured with a number of international awards. In 1998 she created her own staging of Giselle for the Finnish National Ballet, increasing the storytelling aspects of the first act and giving the characters in both acts defined personalities, and in 2001 she restaged the ballet, with new sets and costumes, for La Scala Ballet in Milan. In 2002 she added Swedish choreographer Mats Ek's Carmen to her repertoire.

Barbara Whitney

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