Étoile kicks off with a risky, premise-establishing bet: two failing ballet companies—one in New York, one in Paris—swap their star dancers to boost ticket sales. It's a desperate move born ...

It might be that Étoile struggles to get off the ground. Ballet, after all, requires both the weightless beauty of the ballerina and, also, the raw power of the danseur to give it lift.

The "Danseur Etoile" ("Star Dancer") rank is given for rare excellence, and only a handful of dancers of made it there directly in the past 50 years.

At 23, Diop bypassed the rank of premier danseur that precedes etoile (star) when he was promoted earlier this month – a rare move in the strictly hierarchical 354-year-old company. “I have ...

The "Danseur Etoile" ("Star Dancer") rank is given for rare excellence, and only a handful of dancers of made it there directly in the past 50 years.

The "Danseur Étoile" ("Star Dancer") rank is given for rare excellence and only a handful of dancers have made it there directly in the past 50 years.

The Paris Opera on Saturday appointed 23-year old dancer Guillaume Diop to its Etoile category, the first time a black person has received the ballet's coveted top rank.