Guillaume Diop becomes the first black star dancer of the Paris Opera ballet

It’s historic. This Saturday, March 11, Guillaume Diop was promoted to lead dancer, after a performance by Gisella in Seoul (South Korea). A major breakthrough for the French ballet company, the 23-year-old man thus becomes the Paris Opera’s first black star dancer after more than three centuries of existence.

Guillaume Diop, black star principal dancer

Guillaume Diop’s appointment was announced by the institute’s dance director, José Carlos Martinez, on stage at the LG Arts Center in Seoul. Appreciated, the young dancer greeted the moved audience.

Very rare, Guillaume Diop achieved the title of star without becoming one ” first dancer »previous grade. Young hope of the company for more than a year, Guillaume Diop, born in 2000, is one of the five black and mestizo authors of the manifesto “From the racial question to the Opera”written in 2020 in the wake of the resurgence of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Persistence of discriminatory discourse and lack of diversity

“The Opera now includes people of color in its artistic, technical and administrative ranks. However, the stigma of racial discrimination is still present in 21st century French society. The Paris Opera, a noble institution that we serve with passion, is no exception to the rule.” wrote the authors of the manifesto.

In particular, they denounced the persistence of problematic practices such as “discriminatory speech”, the lack of diversity on stage, or even the use of blackface, a practice which the ballet abandoned a year later, as recalled by theAFP extension.

Guillaume Diop has already received several star roles, dancing the leading male roles in ‘La Bayadère’, ‘Don Quixote’, ‘Swan Lake’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Introduced to dance at the age of four, before starting his apprenticeship in 2008 at the Conservatory of the 18th arrondissement, he will soon perform Maurice Béjart’s “Song of the Wandering Companion” at the Opéra Bastille between April 21 and May 28th.