Adagio, Pas de deux - Dance of the Prince and ClaraThis series invites viewers to follow the rehearsals of emblematic excerpts from the second act of The Nutcracker in Rudolf Nureyev’s version, featuring Étoile dancers Dorothée Gilbert as Clara and Guillaume Diop as the Prince.These rehearsals are guided by Florence Clerc, Étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, who danced this ballet alongside Rudolf Nureyev at the time of its creation.She shares her experience, the memory of the work, her interpretation, and the rigor inherent in Nureyev’s style. © Opéra national de Paris, 2025

POP Masterclass Casse-Noisette Episode1.1

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The Nutcracker in rehearsal

The Nutcracker, rehearsing with... Dorothée Gilbert, Guillaume Diop and Florence Clerc 1/6

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Adagio, Pas de deux - Dance of the Prince and Clara This series invites viewers to follow the rehearsals of emblematic excerpts from the second act of The Nutcracker in Rudolf Nureyev’s version, featuring Étoile dancers Dorothée Gilbert as Clara and 

with Dorothée Gilbert, Guillaume Diop and Florence Clerc

The Nutcracker in rehearsal 1/6

Born on board the Trans-Siberian Railway not far from Lake Baikal, Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) first learnt traditional folk dancing in Oufa (Bashkiria). He saw his first ballet at the Oufa Opera at the age of seven, however, he did not officially begin training as a dancer until he was fifteen. Two years later, he continued his studies at the Vaganova School in Leningrad during which time he was tutored by dance master Alexander Pushkin from 1955 to 1958. The following year he was accepted into the Corps de ballet of the Kirov Theatre where he soon became a soloist. During one of the troupe’s tours of Western Europe, Nureyev made his debut on the stage of the Palais Garnier on May 15, 1961 for a dress rehearsal of Sleeping Beauty. He would also cause a sensation by performing in the Act featuring the Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère three days after seeking political asylum from French customs and immigration officers at Le Bourget Airport on May 16, 1961 after the powers that be at the Kirov had decided to send him back to Moscow without allowing him to continue on the Ballet’s tour to London. As a result, Paris remained a city of great symbolic value for him. He ultimately became the director of the Paris Opera Ballet from 1983 to 1989 after having danced for numerous companies (including the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas and London’s Royal Ballet) and having created Tancrède (Vienna Opera, 1966) and Manfred (Paris Opera, 1979). The Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire would be enriched by his reinterpretations of Marius Petipa’s choreographic masterpieces. These would include Don Quichotte (1981), Raymonda (1983), Swan Lake (1984), Romeo and Juliet (1984), The Nutcracker (1985), Cinderella (1986), Sleeping Beauty (1989) and La Bayadère (1992). The status accorded a male dancer, which in ballet had been greatly undermined since the 19th century, gained new importance in his works. Nureyev also created a number of contemporary ballets including The Tempest (1984), Bach Suite (1984) and Washington Square (1985). He also offered an extremely diverse contemporary repertoire (Frederick Ashton, Rudi van Dantzig, Roland Petit, Maurice Béjart, George Balanchine, Glen Tetley, Martha Graham, Murray Louis, Jerome Robbins, Bob Wilson, Paul Taylor, Hans van Manen, Lucinda Childs, Twyla Tharp, and William Forsythe). Finally, he began a new tradition at the Paris Opera by naming the new Etoiles on stage at the end of a performance in the presence of the audience. The stage of the Palais Garnier had great significance for him: he would salute his audience there for the last time at the end of a performance of La Bayadère on October 8, 1992. His funeral in January 1993 would also be honoured at the Palais Garnier. Rudolf Nureyev was a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur (1988) and a Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (1992).

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in 1840 in Votkinsk, a small town in the Urals. While studying law in Saint Petersburg, he took music classes at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under composer and pianist Anton Rubinstein. In 1866, pianist Nikolaï Rubinstein, Anton’s brother, offered him a position as harmony teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. There, he met playwright Ostrovski who wrote his first opera libretto, The Voyevoda, and composed his first symphony. In 1876, Tchaikovsky initiated a sustained correspondence with Nadejda von Meck, a wealthy widow and great admirer of his music. Though they only wrote to each other and never met, she became his patroness for the next 13 years, which allowed him to focus exclusively on composition. In 1877, hoping to ease the inner conflicts caused by his homosexuality, he married Antonina Miliukova, one of his former students at the Moscow Conservatory, but the marriage was a disaster and left the composer on the verge of suicide. By 1880, Tchaikovsky had become famous: regarded as the ultimate nationalist musician, Tchaikosky spent his time between composition, numerous travels and a small estate he bought in the countryside. In 1891, he traveled to the United States and conducted several of his works at the inaugural concert of Carnegie Hall. He died in 1893 in Saint Petersburg. Although the official cause was cholera, many speculations were made about his death and some even thought of suicide. Tchaikovsky was an eclectic composer. A brilliant orchestrator, with a fine sense of melody, he composed in every musical genre, though he was particularly acknowledged for his symphonic works (the First Piano Concerto is one of the most played concertos in the world). He changed the way musicians regarded ballet by bringing a symphonic touch to a genre before seen as “inferior”. Mostly known in France for his ballets (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker) and symphonies, Tchaikovsky composed a dozen operas (The Voyevoda, Iolanta, The Oprichnik, Vakula the Smith…). Among them, only Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades made their marks as long-lasted successes in Europe.

1995 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2000 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2002 : Promoted to "Coryphée".

2003 : Promoted to "Sujet". Receives the AROP Dance Prize.

2004 : Receives the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2005 : Promoted to "Première danseuse".2006 : Receives the Leonide Massine award (Positano/Italie) and the Ballet 2000 award (Cannes).

2022 : Receives the le Best choreographic performer award from the Syndicat professionnel de la Critique Théâtre, Musique et Danse.

Dorothée Gilbert is made an "Étoile" on November 19th 2007, following a performance of The Nutcracker (Nureyev) in which she dances the role of Clara for the first time.

As part of the Paris Opera Ballet's official tours, Dorothée Gilbert has performed in Australia (Brisbane), the United States (San Francisco, Los Angeles), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasilia), China (Beijing, Shanghai), Russia (Moscow, Novosibirsk), Japan and elsewhere. (Tokyo), Spain (Madrid) and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi).Dorothée Gilbert was named Commandeur de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Gilbert Dorothée

2012 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.2018 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.2021 : Cercle Carpeaux Dance Prize. Arop Dance Award for the season 2020/2021.2022 : Promoted to "Coryphée". 2023 : Promoted to "Sujet".2023: Guillaume Diop is named "Danseur Étoile" on March 11th 2023, following the performance of Giselle (after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot) on the stage of the LG Arts Center in Seoul (Korea), a ballet in which he performed the role of Albrecht.

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