Yvette Chauviré

Yvette Chauviré (; 22 April 1917 – 19 October 2016) was a French prima ballerina assoluta and actress. She is often described as France's greatest ballerina, and was the mentor of another pair of well-known prima ballerinas named, Sylvie Guillem and Marie-Claude Pietragalla. She was awarded the Légion d'Honneur in 1964. was born in Paris on 22 April 1917. At the age of 10, in 1927, she enrolled in the Paris Opera Ballet school. Two years after, she was noticed for her excellent performance in the children's ballet L'Eventail de Jeanne ("Jeanne's Fan"). The following year, when she was 13, she received an invitation to join the ballet company of the Paris Opera.

Career

Chauviré rose through the ranks of dancers at the Paris Opera Ballet, becoming a principal dancer in 1937 and étoile, the highest rank, in 1941. Lifar also encouraged her to study with two Russian choreographers—Boris Kniaseff and Victor Gsovsky, who influenced her style towards lyricism and away from her hard-lined academic training.

However, Lifar, the company director, was accused of being a supporter of Germany during World War II. He was forced to leave the company in 1945 and the following year Chauviré also left, following Lifar to his newly formed company named the Nouveau Ballet de Monte-Carlo. In 1947, both Lifar and Chauviré returned to the Paris Opera Ballet; however, Chauviré left again in 1949 due to contractual disagreements with the company over her freedom to dance with other companies. and also danced with Māris Liepa and Erik Bruhn. and taught Sylvie Guillem and Marie-Claude Pietragalla.

Publications Chauviré published two autobiographies in her lifetime: in 1960, a book titled Je suis ballerine,

Film roles In 1937, Chauviré performed in Jean Benoît-Lévy's film La Mort du Cygne ("The Death of the Swan"), which told the story of a young girl who aspires to become a ballet dancer. The film received the Grand Prix du Film Francais at the 1937 Paris Exposition and was released in the United States the following year under the title Ballerina. Chauviré became a star in the United States, and was featured on the cover of Life magazine in December 1938.

Honors Chevalier of Ordre of the Legion of Honnour, in 1964. Commander of Ordre of the Legion of Honnour, 24 mars 1988. (March 24, 1988) Grand officer of Ordre of the Legion of Honnour, 13 juillet 2015. (July 13, 2015) Commander of National Order of Merit, 22 juin 1994. (June 22, 1994) Grand cross of National Order of Merit, 10 novembre 1997. (November 10, 1997) Commander of Ordre of Arts and Letters.

Personal life Chauviré was married to a Russian artist, Constantin Nepokoitchitsky (known as Constantin Nepo), who died in 1976. She died at her home in Paris on 19 October 2016, aged 99.

Notable published works Je suis ballerine (1960)