Hello my lovelies,
Today, I am introducing you to the very talented prima ballerina Marie-Agnès Gillot.
Marie-Agnès is a former principal dancer of the Paris Opera who retired from the stage on March 31, 2018.
She is also a choreographer. Since the end of her career at the Opera, she performed in a play and organsied a photo exhibition.
For a few years, she has been invited to participate in the yearlyperformance of Les Enfoirés.
On October 14, 2019, Queen MAG will be at La Seine Musicale in the company of her singer friends for an evening of fundraising for the Restos du Coeur.
I let you discover this “crazy chick” in this beautiful interview.
Kisses,
-Kat.
Kat : At 5 years old, you started ballet and, at 9 years old, you passed the exam to be admitted to the Paris Opera. Was it your choice to start dancing or did your parents sign you up hoping you would enjoy it?
Marie-Agnès: My mother enrolled me because I was raising my legs on the tables, like my son, by the way. He’s the same. He walks on his toes. You can see the dancers’ abilities right away. I used to play handball and other sports. She said, “I think you might like dancing,” and she put me in a dance class. She looked for the most reputable dance class and I ended up with Chantal Ruault who is a lovely teacher. I started dancing with a tutor being loved, not the severity or discipline at all. I mean, really great. After that, it all changed when I got to the Opera House. So, yes, that’s my mother. I don’t have a dance mom at all, she wasn’t behind me putting pressure on me…
I think it’s better for the kids because we’re doing what we love. I liked ballet right away: I immediately fell in love with the dance…
K: When you left Caen at the age of 9 and arrived in Paris, did the little girl you were already think of being a prima ballerina ?
Marie-Agnès: No, because I didn’t know there was this whole hierarchy. I wanted to be a dancer. I didn’t know there were those grades. I realized right away that I had to move up a level. I learned when I got back to the Opera that there was a big hierarchy and a lot of exams to pass and expectations. But I wanted to be a dancer. I didn’t want to be a prima ballerina, I wanted to be a dancer. Afterwards, I understood that to have a certain freedom, you had to be the best.
K: You have a scoliosis that forced you to wear a corset for 21 hours a day. Did this scoliosis make you more of a fighter than other dancers?
Marie-Agnès: Let’s say that I had a notion of freedom that was immediately very strong because, as soon as I took off my corset, I felt alive again. So, I never wasted any time.
When you’re locked up at the age of 12, in a corset, until you’re 17, I assure you that when you take it off, you don’t waste any time.
So, I may have this phrase of freedom because I was handicapped and I still am. I have a corset again.
K: To mark an audience with dance, there is also a theatrical part in the interpretation. How do you manage to get into your character and play your role with such finesse and precision every time?
Marie-Agnès: I educate myself, I document myself, I read. I like to read, I like to revisit the classics and then I put my spin on it. I have a lot of personality, everyone says so. I’m an enthusiastic person, I’m cheerful. So as soon as I get into something, I go all the way.
K: In the summer of 2018, you went to India in preparation for an exhibition that took place from September 11 to October 11, 2018. How did it make you feel, tobe dancing in such impressive places such as the Taj Mahal?
Marie-Agnès: I was taken by a great sadness because there is a lot of poverty. It was my first time in India. It was really a culture shock. I arrive, I see an ecological disaster, a humanitarian disaster. The pictures were taken very early in the morning. We’d get up at night, I’d do the pictures at 6:00 in the morning. It really touched me, actually. It really moved me. But people are not unhappy, that’s what’s weird: they’re very poor but not unhappy. You can’t feel sorry for them. However, for us Westerners, it’s still shocking. It lifted my heart.
K: Between November 14, 2018 and February 17, 2019, we saw you at the Théâtre Marigny in Peau d’âne with Claire Chazal in particular. Could you sum up the play in a few words?
Marie-Agnès: It’s “Peau d’âne”, it’s Jacques Demy’s film which is directed by an Italian director. Really great! It was my first experience in the theatre. It was really great, I found it a lot easier than dancing. I found friends, I found Claire. We were in a dressing room together. It was like another family. I felt like I was leaving the opera and finding another family, but in the theater. It was really like a little troupe. It was good for me because I was able to “forget” the Opera little by little. It was a good transition for me.
K: On October 14, 2019, you will be at the Auditorium for an evening of fundraising for Restos du Coeur. Was putting your passion to the benefit of an association a goal in your life?
Marie-Agnès: I still do that, actually. I’ve always been committed to causes that either touch me personally or touch my friends and family.
When Jean-Jacques Goldman, 4 years ago, asked me to be an Enfoiré (I was really chosen by Jean-Jacques Goldman), I was super touched. For me, it was a gift. It was the first time that a dancer had ever been in the Enfoirés. There never was a dancer. I loved it. All the artists agreed to volunteer, that’s what’s great; I’m not the only one, I’m accompanied.
K: Then, we will be able to see you there for 5 other shows: “From Paris to Beirut” (November 22, 2019), “From Rothko to Cocteau” (March 13 and 14, 2020) and “La boxeuse amoureuse” (April 20, 2020), “Chorégraphie d’orchestre” (May 14, 2020) and “Faites de la danse” (June 20, 2020). What can you tell us about these different upcoming shows?
Marie-Agnès: They’re all really different things.
So “From Paris to Beirut”, I surround myself with Lebanese artists and I’m doing a Nada Kano piece with a dress that will take up the whole stage. The second part is with Simon Ghraichy, the great piano virtuoso. We’re going to start working on it in August so I can’t tell you what I’m going to create yet because I haven’t started yet.
Then, “De Rothko à Cocteau”, there, I’m doing “Le jeunehomme et la mort” which I filmed with Nicolas Le Riche but I’m doing it again with a young man. And after that, for the very first time, I’ll do the “Rothko” that Carolyn Carlson gave me. It’sthe last piece she created for herself and she gave it to me.
“The Boxer in Love” will be with Arthur H and Souleymane Cissokho. There will also be Mickhail Rudy, who is a great virtuoso. I’m thinking of doing a choreographed boxing match, we’ll play piano with boxing gloves. Just some weird stuff, but so sharp. It’s just to change people’s minds./lift people’s spirits?
“Choreography of an orchestra”, I’m going to choreograph with the conductor. I’d like to conduct an orchestra with my body.
“Do some dancing”, I want to create the dance party. I made a play on words, I marked “do”. I want everyone from 7 to 77 years old to be able to dance as a family. All the different dances that will follow one another. I have friends who are dj’s coming. It’s really a party, it’s joyful. There’s going to be a lot of dancing, a lot of dancing, from booty shake to classic.
K: Do you have other projects to come linked (or not) to dance ?
Marie-Agnès: Yes, I’m also doing a creation with Andrés Marin and Christian Rizzo. It was my former director, Brigitte Lefèvre, who suggested this project to me. It’s funny because I’m still working with my masters. I’m no longer at the Opera, but people keep asking me to create something as if I were at the Opera. We haven’t changed families.
K: In addition to being a dancer, you are also a choreographer. Do you prefer choreographing or dancing? Why do you prefer choreography?
Marie-Agnès: Oh, it’s not the same job. It’s as an actor and director, actually. It’s not the same thing at all.
Choreographer, you really have to make it all up, have everything in mind. Dancer, it’s just acting. Choreographer, it’s about costumes, lighting, direction, the language we’re going to use when we dance. It’s much broader than that.
K: What’s the secret to being a good choreographer?
Marie-Agnès: Ah, I don’t know. It’s really not something that comes easy to everyone, it’s really another gift. I’ve been creating since I was a kid. I used to do shows between scenes with covers. I used to do shows when I was very young. I’vealways had that creative spirit. It’s true that for 30 years I didn’t use it because I had to get to the top of my hierarchy. I didn’thave the time to do everything. As soon as I got what I wanted, I started again.
K: You also danced in a few music videos. Are dancing on a stage and dancing in a music video 2 different things?
Marie-Agnès: Yes, of course, they’re not the same but dancing is dancing. It’s always the same for me. Except that on stage, you’re doing a roll, you can’t stop. When you’re doing a video clip, if you’ve missed it, you can start again. It’s really technical conditions. But dancing is dancing.
K: During your career, have you ever received advice that you’ve never forgotten?
Marie-Agnès: I’ve always been told to be myself because the other seats are already taken. You have to be yourself in life.
K: And finally, what are the three words that best describe you?
Marie-Agnès: I don’t know… passion, courage and tenacity… and generosity.
K: Thank you very much, Marie-Agnès!
If you like dancing, if you liked the interview or if you just want to see nice pictures, I advise you to follow Queen MAG on Instagram (@marieagnesgillot)
Love,
–Kat.
-ITW July 24th 2019