Final Performance at Palais Garnier

Dorothée Gilbert, a principal dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet, is preparing for her final performance at the Palais Garnier, scheduled for October 15. She will portray Manon Lescaut in The Tragic Story of Manon, a ballet by Kenneth MacMillan. This performance will be broadcast live on POP (Paris Opera Play) and will be available for replay for thirty days.

Career and Recognition

Gilbert, who was named a principal dancer in 2007 following her performance in The Nutcracker, has established herself as one of the leading figures of the Paris Opera Ballet over nearly twenty years. She will be 42 years old at the time of her retirement, which coincides with the legal retirement age for dancers at the Paris Opera.

Resilience and Personal History

Gilbert's career has been marked by resilience, including an episode described in her autobiography Étoile(s), where she refers to herself as "the dancer with the broken foot" due to a stress fracture of the metatarsal that required six weeks of immobilization. She began her ballet training at seven years old and was inspired by Manuel Legris and Noëlla Pontois during her first ballet performance of Giselle at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse when she was ten years old.

Post-Retirement Plans and Projects

After her final performance at the Palais Garnier, Gilbert will perform in French Guiana on October 22 and 23 as part of an opera tour. She will also return to The Tragic Story of Manon at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Additionally, she is involved in the French feature film The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Alexandre Castagnetti, which includes real dancers such as Guillaume Diop.

Future Projects and Documentary

In 2027, Gilbert will be the subject of a documentary titled A Life of a Star, directed by her husband, photographer James Bort. The film will focus on her last two seasons at the Paris Opera and may also explore her future endeavors. Gilbert has expressed reluctance to use the word "farewell" to describe her departure from the stage, preferring "goodbye" as it is less dramatic. Despite retiring from the Paris Opera, she has not indicated that she will stop performing altogether.