Laetitia Pujol

Laetitia Pujol (born 8 October 1975) is a French ballet dancer. She joined the Paris Opera Ballet in 1993, becoming a principal in 2000 and a star (étoile) in 2002.

Laetitia Pujol dancing Giselle (2012)

Early life

Born in Toulouse, she started to dance ballet when she was eight but was not admitted to the Conservatoire régional de Toulouse until 1992.[1][2] After she won first prize at the Lausanne Ballet Competition the following year, she was able to proceed immediately to the final year of the Paris Opera Ballet School. There she danced Lise in Claude Bessy's La fille mal gardée.[3] Pujol graduated in 1993 at the age of 18.[4]

Career

After joining the Paris Opera's corps de ballet, she became a principal in 2000, which provided opportunities for her to dance Polyhymnia in George Balanchine's Apollo, Catherine in Kader Belarbi's Wuthering Heights, Henriette in Raymonda and Clara in The Nutcracker. Jiri Kylian chose her to dance the pas de trois in the First Act of Pierre Lacotte's adaptation of Paquita.[3]

In May 2002, after she stood in for Clairemarie Osta, dancing Kitri for the first time in Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote, Pujol received the prestigious title of étoile.[3] More recent additions to her repertoire include leading roles in Balanchine's ballets Symphony in C, The Four Temperaments, Concerto Barocco, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, Agon and Serenade. She has also danced Nathalie in José Martinez' Les Enfants du paradis, the title role in John Neumeier's Sylvia and the Young Girl in Roland Petit's Le Loup.[4]

Pujol retired from the Paris Opera Ballet on 23 September 2017, following a performance of Balanchine's "Emeralds" and the final pas de deux from Neumeier's Sylvia.[5]

Awards

In addition to the Lausanne medal in 1992, Laetitia Pujol has received the Silver Medal (juniors) at the 1994 Varna International Competition and, in 1997, the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.[4]

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References
  1. Françoise Caries (4 May 2002). "Laetitia Pujol, Toulousaine et nouvelle étoile". La Dépêche du Midi (in French). Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  2. Frédérique Jourdaa (29 December 2002). "Laetitia Pujol suit son étoile". Le Parisien.
  3. Marc Haegeman (2002). "Laetitia Pujol, Danseuse etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet". For Ballet Lovers Only. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  4. "Laëtitia Pujol". Opéra de Paris. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  5. Boisseau, Rosita (26 September 2017). "Danse: les adieux d'une étoile sur une rivière de joyaux". Le Monde. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
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