Attilio Labis

Attilio Labis (born 1936) is a French ballet dancer and teacher. He began his training at the Opéra de Paris when he was nine years old and rose through the ranks of the school. In 1952 he was accepted into the corps de ballet Paris Opera Ballet, but in 1958 he had to join the military. Upon the completion his military service, he came back and successfully auditioned for a "Premier Danseur" (First soloist) position after only one week of training.

He was promoted to "Danseur Étoile" (principal dancer) approximately one year later, after André Malraux saw him dance "Pas de Dieux", a choreography by Gene Kelly, and recommended he be promoted. He performed as a Danseur Étoile (principal dancer) in the Paris Opera Ballet from 1960 to 1972, then taught the company as a ballet teacher until his retirement.

He is seen as having brought many technical innovations to the French school, including more acrobatic steps in solos and duets, and moving the foot higher to the "retiré au genou" (knee height) position for pirouettes, from the old "à la cheville" (ankle height) position. He often performed with his wife, "Étoile" Christine Vlassi, as well as with other "Étoiles" such as Margot Fonteyn and Claude Bessy.

He originated the role of Siegfried in the Vladimir Bourmeister staging of Swan Lake at the Paris Opera Ballet. Labis has appeared in several movies and television series, including L' Âge en fleur (1975), Le Spectre de la danse (1986), and Les Cahiers retrouvés de Nina Vyroubova Source: Article "Attilio Labis" from Wikipedia in english, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.

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