Dominique Khalfouni
Dominique Khalfouni (born 1951) is a French ballet dancer. Once a star (étoile) of the Paris Opera Ballet and a principal of the Ballet National de Marseille, she is now a ballet teacher.[1]
Biography
Born in 1951, she attended the Paris Opera Ballet School from the age of nine, joined the corps de ballet when she was 16 and became the company's étoile in 1976.[2] If not dancing, her other career aspirations were to be a musician: violinist or pianist.[3]
Career
In addition to dancing the leads in many of the classics, she performed roles created for her in Kenneth MacMillan's Métaboles, Oscar Araiz' Adagietto, Maurice Bejart's Serait-ce la Mort and Roland Petit's Le Fantome de l'Opéra before leaving Paris for the Ballet National de Marseille in 1980.[1] In 1981, by invitation of Mikhail Baryshnikov, she appeared with the American Ballet Theatre, dancing Giselle at the Metropolitan Opera House.[4] A principal with the Ballet National de Marseille, she excelled in La Pavlova in 1986, specially created for her by Petit.[3] After being premiered in Barcelona's Liceu, it was also performed at the Opéra de Marseille. As a result, the international press referred to her as the greatest French dancer of her time, calling her ballerina assoluta.[1] But by 1994, when Lucia Lacarra joined the Ballet National de Marseille, Petit immediately replaced Khalfouni with Lacarra as Esmeralda in Notre Dame de Paris.[5]
Turning to teaching, Khalfouni is with the Institut de formation professionnelle Rick Odums (IFPRO) in Paris.[6] During a 2009 interview, she stated that she regretted her decision to leave the Paris Opera company as she still loves it deeply.[3] Her two children are both dancers.[3]
Awards
- Ordre national du Mérite (1987)
- Prix Benois de la Danse (1995)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Dominique Khalfouni". Benois Theatre. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ↑ Ivor Guest. Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris. Flammarion, 2001
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gauthier, Marie-Astrid (28 February 2009). "Dominique Khalfouni et Mathieu Ganio, danseurs" (in French). ResMusica. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ↑ Kisselgoff, Anna (25 May 1981). "MISS KHALFOUNI IN BALLET THEATER 'GISELLE'". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ↑ "Biography Lucia Lacarra Principal dancer". Bavarian State Opera. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ↑ "Formation avancée et pré-professionnelle Classique - Dominique Khalfouni". Institut de formation professionnelle Rick Odums. Retrieved 23 March 2014.