Paris Opéra Ballet étoile Dorothée Gilbert is preparing for her final farewell performance in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon on October 15, marking the end of a 26-year tenure with the historic French institution as she reaches the company’s mandatory retirement age.
Stepping Down from the Palais Garnier Stage
After 26 years inside one of the world’s most prestigious dance institutions, Gilbert is bringing her formal career with the Paris Opéra Ballet to a close. The 43-year-old dancer has slightly exceeded the company’s mandatory retirement age for artists, concluding a journey that began when she entered the POB School at age 12, following early training at her regional conservatory, before being hired into the corps de ballet five years later. Born in Toulouse, Gilbert climbed the ranks swiftly, earning her étoile title in 2007 on the night of a strike, when she performed Rudolf Nureyev’s The Nutcracker without set changes or costumes.
She also noted that her body is doing “rather well,” recounting that aside from a fatigue injury to her second metatarsal at age 24 that is now forgotten, the main issue that bothered her was calf tears. Saying goodbye to the public will be hard because being a dancer without an audience to watch them does not mean much. Throughout her career, she has performed around the globe on company tours in Australia, the United States, Brazil, China, Russia, Spain, and Japan, where loyal fans send touching letters and binders filled with press clippings.
A Legendary Partnership with Hugo Marchand
For her final curtain call at home, Gilbert selected Kenneth MacMillan’s narrative ballet Manon, sharing the stage with fellow étoile Hugo Marchand. Gilbert and Marchand have spent the past 12 years forging one of the company’s dramatic partnerships, building an unshakeable non-verbal rapport that allows them to completely let go during emotionally demanding performances. She met Marchand during this ballet, stating that she could not envision saying goodbye without him, and she aims to turn her departure night into a celebration to enjoy each of the company’s dancers.
Reflecting on her physical readiness, Gilbert noted that minor ailments like a calf tear and a bruised rib have made her final preparations challenging, yet she remains at peace with stepping away. Looking back at her checklist of roles, she expressed joy at having performed all of them, recently including Marguerite in The Lady of the Camellias, which she held very dear, alongside Giselle, which she performed twelve times while evolving in her interpretation of the character toward something simpler and more refined as maturity brought less fear of being herself.
| Career Milestone | Details |
|---|---|
| Company Entry | Joined Paris Opéra Ballet corps de ballet |
| Étoile Promotion | Named étoile in 2007 during a company strike |
| Final POB Performance | Manon at the Palais Garnier on October 15 |
| International Touring | Australia, United States, Brazil, China, Russia, Spain, and Japan |
Bridging Classical Rigor and Digital Audiences
Throughout her career, Gilbert performed the classical repertoire—including Giselle, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Don Quixote, and The Nutcracker—while also being distributed in contemporary pieces by choreographers like Maurice Béjart and Jiří Kylián. She initially fought against physical limitations like flexibility and lines, but ultimately learned to focus on her qualities, noting that it is the little imperfections that make the audience connect with you.
Gilbert’s final performance will be livestreamed on Paris Opera Play (POP). Alongside the livestream, her final seasons have been captured in a documentary by her husband, James Bort, slated for release in 2027. Looking toward the future, Gilbert plans a smooth, stepped-down descent, which includes working as a coach for dancers preparing for internal promotion competitions, as well as holding a small role in Alexandre Castagnetti’s film The Phantom of the Opera, releasing on October 28 alongside étoile Guillaume Diop.
