It was indeed in the costume of Albrecht – the lovesick suitor of the tragic Giselle – that, just over two years ago, the young dancer was promoted to Étoile. Alongside Dorothée Gilbert, who performed as Giselle, he wrote a new chapter in the history of the Paris Opera Ballet.

Yet at the time of this consecration, Guillaume Diop was still only a Sujet – in other words, a junior soloist promoted from the corps de ballet. Like several illustrious Étoiles before him, such as Hugo Marchand and Dorothée Gilbert, he failed his first promotion competition to the rank of Coryphée (a confirmed member of the corps de ballet). In June 2021, three years after joining the company, he landed his first true solo role while still just a Quadrille substitute in the corps de ballet. That year, he performed Romeo for the first time opposite Étoile Léonore Baulac in Rudolf Nureyev’s ballet set to Prokofiev’s sublime score.

It was partly due to a series of injuries suffered by other dancers during the 2022–2023 season – notably during performances of Swan Lake – that Guillaume Diop emerged as a potential future Étoile. When the company embarked on its tour in South Korea, he was chosen to perform Albrecht alongside the celebrated Dorothée Gilbert, nearly twenty years his senior. It was then that he was officially named Étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet.

Today, he reprises this iconic role in the Paris Opera Ballet’s 2025–2026 season, on October 18 and 28, 2025. In addition, he will appear in the contemporary dance program Contrastes, running from December 1 to 31, 2025.

Pour découvrir Guillaume Diop dans Giselle, cliquez ici !

Et pour le voir dans le programme Contrastes, c’est ici !

Et pour en savoir plus sur l’actualité de l’Opéra de Paris, cliquez ici !

Guillaume Diop – c – Virginie Ribaut / Musée Grévin

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A star among stars, it was only after a long and difficult road that Dorothée Gilbert succeeded in reaching the ultimate rank in November 2007 after a
performance of The Nutcracker.

Contrary to popular belief, she didn’t get into the prestigious Ecole de danse de l’Opéra national de Paris on the first try. It was only through hard work that she gained a place in the prestigious school on her second attempt, in 1995, at the age of 13. Like many other dancers who have gone on to become soloists or stars of the company, she spent two years as a Quadrille, i.e. replacing members of the corps de ballet.

She won prestigious awards in her first years as a professional dancer: firstly, the Prix AROP de la danse in 2003, then the Cercle Carpeaux in 2004 and the Prix Leonide Massine in Positano, Italy, as well as the Prix Ballet 2000 in Cannes in 2006. Much later, in 2022, she received the Prize for best choreographic performer from the Syndicat professionnel de la Critique Théâtre, Musique et Danse.

The duo she forms with Hugo Marchand, 10 years her junior, has also built a legend. Since their artistic encounter in 2015 during performances of Kenneth MacMillan‘s ballet Manon, the dancers have enchanted Parisian audiences with the intensity of their interpretation.

Dorothée Gilbert is a role model in the world of dance, thanks to her determination and hard work. After the performances of Giselle, she will be back in the Contrastes program with O złożony / O composite by choreographer Trisha Brown.

This is the last full season for the dancer, who turns 42 this season and will bid farewell to the stage in September 2026.

To see Dorothée Gilbert in Giselle, click here, and to see her in Contrastes, click here!

To find out more about the Paris Opera Ballet, click here!

Dorothée Gilbert in rehearsal and on stage in the ballet Giselle – c – Maria-helena Buckley & Agathe Poupeney

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