Marie-Claude Georgette Yvonne Pietragalla (born 2 February 1963 in Paris) is a French dancer and choreographer.

Biography

Pietragalla was born in Paris to a Coriscan father and mother from Bordeaux. At 16, she joined the

Ballet de l'Opera National de Paris The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...

and was named étoile on 22 December 1990 after the performance of Don Quixote in which she played the role of Kitri. In 1998, she was appointed to the leadership of the National Ballet of Marseille, where she remained five years. After a conflict, the dancers of the company obtained her resignation. She danced at the

Opéra Bastille The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris Nat ...

with

Patrick Dupond Patrick Dupond (14 March 1959 – 5 March 2021) was a French ballet dancer and artistic director. He made a name for himself in 1976 when he won the gold medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria. A virtuoso dancer, he was n ...

the "

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

" (1992) and "Les Variations d'Ulysse" (1995) under the direction of Jean-Claude Gallotta. In 1998 she received the

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

. In 2000 she appeared in a one-woman show "Don't look back", a solo performance created for her by Carolyn Carlson. In October that year she introduced the ballet ''Sakountala'' that evokes the internal struggle of the sculptor

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

with her own demons. In 2002 she choreographed the show "Enzo", a duo created for the show at the Olympia of Christophe (

Victoire de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

2002). In 2003 she choreographed the show "Metamorphoses" for the dance school of Marseille. The same year she also choreographed "Ni Dieu ni maître", a show about anarchist poet and singer-songwriter

Léo Ferré Léo Ferré (24 August 1916 – 14 July 1993) was a French-born Monégasque poet and composer, and a dynamic and controversial live performer, whose career in France dominated the years after the Second World War until his death. He released so ...

, which was presented first at the Théatre Toursky in Marseille, then at the Olympia in Paris. The show was about music and songs by Léo Ferré (and Elizabeth Cooper). She signed a new version of "Don Quixote" (Minkus-Cooper). Since 2004 she has run her own company, the Pietragalla Company. In 2006 she presented a show called "Conditions humaines". In 2007 she began her second year of residency at the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and under the direction of Pierre Cardin created the dance-drama "Sade ou le théâtre des fous". Presented first at the castle of Lacoste in July 2007, this ballet was also given in February 2008 at the Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris. In March 2009 she presented the show "Marco Polo" at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.

Personal life

She is married to the dancer Julien Derouault. In 2011 she reappeared alone on the stage of the Palace with his new creation, "The temptation of Eve", which was originally scheduled to run from 25 January-12 February 2011 but was extended until 12 March, after which she went on a tour in France and Switzerland. She is currently a judge on ''Danse avec les Stars'', the French version of ''Dancing with the Stars''.

Bibliography

Works of Marie-Claude Pietragalla

* ''Corps et âme'', Paris, Somogy, 1999 * ''La Légende de la danse'', Paris, Flammarion, 1999 * ''Écrire la danse : de Ronsard à Antonin Artaud'', Paris, Atlantica, 2001 * ''La Femme qui danse'' with Dominique Simonnet, Paris, Seuil, 2008

Book on Marie-Claude Pietragalla

* ''Pietragalla'', Bernard Raffali text, photographs by Claude Alexander, Arles, Actes Sud, 1996

Filmography

*''Sahara,'' Pietra (voice) *''Mongeville'' (TV Series), Letizia Jacomino *''Livid'', Jessel *''Quand je vois le soleil'', Jacques Cortal, 2003. Marie-Claude Pietragalla, Florent Pagny, Francois Cluzet and Sophie Broustal. *''Le lac des cygnes'' (TV Movie), Odette/Odile

References

External links

�
Marie-Claude Pietragalla & Yvette Chauviré: Les Deux Pigeons
YouTube video. Retrieved 22 January 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pietragalla, Marie-Claude French female dancers French women choreographers Prima ballerinas Modern dance 1963 births Living people

Pietragalla Pietragalla is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bordered by the comuni of Acerenza, Avigliano, Cancellara, Forenza, Potenza Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Puten ...

Prix Benois de la Danse winners French people of Corsican descent