Sylvie Guillem (1965-). French ballerina

Sylvie Guillem was born in Paris in 1965. She began her movement training with her mother, who was a gymnastics teacher and entered the Paris Opéra Ballet School at the age of 11. Five years later, she entered the corps de ballet of one of the greatest companies in the world, the Paris Opéra Ballet. Guillem won a gold medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in 1983 and in 1984 became the Paris Opéra’s youngest ever étoile. The William Forsythe ballet, which was to make everyone connected with it famous for the next decade – In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated – broke onto the dance scene in 1987 with Guillem in a leading role. By 1988 she was dancing with The Royal Ballet in London, where she was to perform as a principal guest artist for many years.

Guillem enjoyed the contemporary dance culture in Britain, eventually moving into this genre. She continued to perform internationally until her retirement on the stroke of midnight between 2015 and 2016. Guillem changed the face of female dancing, not that there had not been long-legged brilliant dancers before her, but rather that she hit the zeitgeist and was there at the right time to make the most of it.