Ghislaine Thesmar began her career as a dancer in 1961 in the corps de ballet of the Marquis de Cuevas. She became principal dancer in 1972. After a long and brilliant international career, she was named professor at the Paris Opéra in 1988 where she teaches prestigious dancers, including Sylvie Guillem.
Principal dancers naturally fascinate and inspire dreams. Ghislaine Thesmar, the great principal dancer of the 70s and 80s, is no exception. In this book, she tells the story of her life: the initial turmoil as a dancer, her starring roles, the encounters that marked her career, her favorite partners, the choreographers with whom she worked: Rudolf Nureyev, George Balanchine, Bronislava Nijinska, Serge Lifar, Jerome Robbins… The reader will enjoy this tale during which we encounter the great names of classical dance who influenced her renown, often heirs of the history of the Ballets Russes. In addition, we learns how the rigorous education given by a distant mother and the artistic aspirations of a father, a youth filled with travel and openness to the other, a determined nature, sowed the fertile ground on which would grow the young Ghislaine Thesmar’s desire to dance. The structuring of the star dancer went well beyond the performing of technique. Thus we see the development of a metaphysical aspiration to elevation. Both the story of a dancer’s training, and one that covers a portion of the history of dance, it is a text that will delight all fans of classical dance. For it keeps the memory of dance alive.