Photo credit : James Bort

At only 24, Guillaume Diop is the new star of the Paris Opera Ballet, after his promotion in 2023 as Étoile Dancer, the highest rank in the hierarchy of the 350 years old company founded by Louis XIV.

Born in Paris in 2000, he took his first dance steps at the age of 4 and joined the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet School at 12 where he studied for 6 years.

After joining the Paris Opera Ballet in 2018, he quickly rose through the strict hierarchy. Spotted very early on for his technical and artistic qualities that fully embody the “French style”, he was entrusted with some of the greatest roles in the repertoire (Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake or Basilio in Don Quixote).

As a young man of convictions willing to push his discipline towards greater openness, he co-wrote in 2020 a manifesto intended to open a conversation about diversity, inclusion and representation at the Paris Opera.

On March 11, 2023 as he was performing in the ballet Giselle with the Paris Opera during a tour in Korea, he was promoted as Etoile Dancer, becoming the first Black person in history to reach this prestigious status.

Acclaimed by the audience and drawing the attention of the media and fashion world both in France and worldwide, Guillaume has become one the most prominent public figure in the country and his reputation is reaching far beyond the very niche ballet world.  In 2024, he was part of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, dancing on the roofs of Paris.

With the ambition of developing a global experience aside from his career at the Paris Opera, Guillaume Diop has made international guesting with the Joburg Ballet, performing in the Sleeping Beauty and with the Royal Swedish Ballet performing in the world creation of Gustavia.