Yvette Chauviré (1917–2016). French prima ballerina assoluta, teacher, coach and director

Yvette Chauviré was born in France in 1917. She joined the Paris Opéra Ballet School in 1927 and the Paris Opéra Ballet four years later, in 1931. She was quickly noticed by Serge Lifar, who made several of his ballets on her. She became a principal dancer in 1937 and étoile in 1941. She also worked with a range of teachers, including Carlotta Zambelli, Boris Kniaseff and Victor Gsovsky. Chauviré developed a way of dancing that was unique in France at that time. She was exquisitely musical and had a lyricism that was entirely enveloping, and she danced for 30 years with a host of legendary male stars in companies all over the world. Her final performance was in Giselle at the Paris Opéra in 1972. She continued to teach, coach and direct, with her coaching especially deep, insightful and revealing. Yvette Chauviré died aged 99 in 2016.