Trained in dance in Argentina, her native country, Ludmila Pagliero has kept a singing accent. This petite, smiling woman welcomes us without fuss into her dressing room at the Paris Opera where she is preparing two pieces scheduled for 2025, Onéguine John Cranko et al Appartement by Mats Ek. A mirror covered in photos, a few tutus, piles of pointe shoes… in this alcove which breathes dance, a long conversation begins with the dominant theme: the risk of injury. He played an important role in his career, both good and bad.
Franceinfo Culture: You have just announced your early farewell, on April 17, at the Palais Garnier. Why did you make this decision?
Ludmila Pagliero: I’ve been thinking about it for a while, since the COVID period in fact, and I’ve been preparing. I began to explore other possibilities in dance, in transmission (…). I will be 42 in October [l’âge de la retraite pour les étoiles de l’Opéra de Paris] so after 6 months, it doesn’t change much. There comes a time when you have to give way to others. And to be able to pass it on to others, you have to know how to hang up your slippers.
Did your injury last September play a role in this decision?
I think that in a way, it helped to confront me with this question: what do I want to do next? I would like to pass it on. If I were in a leadership position, how would I do things?
What exactly are you going to do?
I don’t know anything about it! I don’t have anything concrete. I want to close this chapter with the Opera to be available and let myself be carried away. I follow my instinct. It has always been like this in my life. I am accessible to things and people who cross my path.
At what age did you discover dance?
Ludmila Pagliero: I was 5 years old when my grandmother took me to see a ballet. It seems that I was fascinated, but I don’t remember it. When I was 7, I took my first classical lesson and I hated it. There was no music, the teacher hit the floor with a stick to set the tempo. I quickly stopped and did modern jazz. There, I had fun! I returned to classical later, with another teacher.
When did it become more serious?
The teacher told my mother that I had aptitude. I danced to music and memorized the corrections well. She recommended the Colón theater school in Buenos Aires, the equivalent of the Paris Opera school in Argentina. Three months later, at age 8, I passed the entrance exam. I stayed there until I was 15.
During these years of training, did your teachers discuss the risk of injury?
The question didn’t arise, no. We were not aware of the importance of preparation work against injuries. We learned anatomy, we had physical checks. There were girls with scoliosis problems that we were trying to fix by improving the position needed for ballet dancing. But we were not aware of the risks. We worked in positions that are not natural for the human body, but we did not learn at all what consequences this could have. Nor how to achieve these movements and positions without forcing. We knew people who had injuries and had to stop dancing. But hey, we knocked on wood so that this wouldn’t happen to us!
At 15 and a half years old, you joined the Santiago Ballet in Chile where you stayed for three years. Have you ever been injured?
I had sprains. These small sprains that can stop you for a week or 15 days. But there wasn’t the same amount of shows as at the Paris Opera, only five productions a year, so we had more time to recover and catch up.
When a professional dancer gets injured, even slightly, do they get scared?
This is always important because it stops us in our tracks. We know that stopping, even after a simple sprain, will have consequences. For the ankle and for the calf and thigh with loss of muscle strength. You will have to relearn how to give information to the foot so that it positions itself correctly without twisting. There is a lot of mental work to be done to also regain confidence and self-confidence. Our career is very short. When we are at the top of our physical level, there is a very pleasant feeling of ease. When we ask our body something, it responds. The machine works perfectly. When you get injured, you have to get it going again and it doesn’t always do things the way you want it to. We have the feeling of losing a niche.
At the age of 20, you left America for Europe when a one-year contract awaited you at the American Ballet Theater in New York. For what ?
A friend told me about an audition at the Paris Opera. I came to France specially to spend it and I took the opportunity to see a show. I saw the quality of the Opera corps de ballet. In the United States, there were great soloists, but I had never seen a troupe with this level of excellence, from the last one, at the back of the stage, to the one at the front.
Did you start from scratch at the Paris Opera?
Compared to the big roles that I was already dancing at the Santiago ballet, yes. I knew I wanted to be a principal dancer or a principal dancer, but I didn’t yet know exactly where that was going to happen!
Could we say that you owe your star title to an injury?
I didn’t imagine it like that, but it’s true. On March 22, 2012, I had to dance the Mats Ek and Robbins evening at the Palais Garnier. At the Opéra Bastille, there was La Bayadère. In the morning, the ballet master Laurent Hilaire came to tell me: “We really have a problem tonight.” Mathilde Froustey, the dancer who was to perform the role of Gamzatti in La Bayadère replacing Dorothée Gilbert, who was injured, had huge tendinitis in her Achilles tendon. She could no longer jump or even put her foot on the ground. He asked me if I could dance in his place that evening, saying: “We think you are capable of taking on this challenge.” Before accepting, I asked for a rehearsal. I had danced this role two years before, but it all came back to me. Musically, it was okay, and technically, everything worked out. There was just a little extra stress: this show was broadcast live in the cinema!
At the end of the performance, dance director Brigitte Lefèvre praised your artistic courage before announcing that you were named principal dancer.
Yes… one person’s misfortune makes another person’s happiness!
Have you ever fallen like Marion Barbeau in the movie In body by Cédric Klapisch?
I happened to fall on stage. We’re shocked, we’re a little ashamed and we laugh so much sometimes… because we can’t do anything anymore, our butts are on the ground and everyone has seen it… We’re just trying to continue.
Has the injury resurfaced in your operatic career?
Yes, it appears often. I had small sprains that were only partially treated with a patch and a little ice. I danced with a very swollen ankle. I had problems with my hamstring muscles, which tore several times, preventing me from lifting my leg. When I arrived at the opera, we only had one osteopath and one physiotherapist for 154 dancers and a list of doctors to consult outside. We were less accompanied.
Who made things happen?
Benjamin Millepied. When he was dance director, he created the health center that we have today with a treating doctor, physiotherapists, osteopaths, masseurs, physical trainers. We can see them during our breaks to avoid going to the point of injury. To unblock if there is any discomfort, to massage… The service is on site so in the event of a serious problem, it sees us directly. The examinations are carried out quickly to set up a repair protocol according to the dancer’s schedule at the opera. For example, we can delay its distribution in certain shows to give it more time to heal. I think in the past, dancers didn’t say anything and continued to suffer, despite the risks.
What has changed in injury management at the Paris Opera?
There is follow-up. Before, in the event of a sprain, we sometimes had 15 days of complete stoppage. Today, we come back faster. After a few days, until the inflammation subsides, we do exercises, for example with an elastic band, to mobilize the ankle and so that it drains. We work the abs, upper body, thighs in a different way, without using the foot. This allows the rest of the body to stay in shape and be strong enough to then allow us to relieve the foot as much as possible, avoiding compensating with actions that could lead to other injuries.
When was your last injury?
In mid-September, I tore my fascia lata, a tendon that runs through the hip and attaches to the knee. It is a membrane that supports the pelvis. To a choreography by Forsythe, I had a lot of hip swaying. On an extreme movement during a rehearsal, I felt like a knife go through me and I knew straight away that it was over. During creation, we experiment a lot so we take more risks. I had 15 days of healing with only physiotherapy sessions and a few movements. Then, I had muscle strengthening of the entire area (adductors, glutes). As it healed, the tendon had retracted so I had difficulty lifting my legs. I had to stretch him little by little, he was re-inflamed, so I had to re-educate him, let’s say gently.
What will be your last shows at the Paris Opera?
In February, I will rediscover a great classical ballet that I know well, Onéguine by John Cranko. I’m going to have a lot of emotion because my partner, Mathieu Ganio is also saying goodbye. At the end of March, I will dance Appartementa contemporary piece by Swedish choreographer Mats Ek which I love and I will make my final bow on April 17th.
Do you already know where you will go?
No, it could be everywhere. I am open to everything.
Onegin by John Cranko from February 8 to March 4, 2025
Prices from 12 to 170 euros / 2 hours 20 minutes with 2 intermissions
Sharon Eyal / Mats Ek au Palais Garnier from March 27 to April 18, 2025
Prices from 25 to 140 euros / 1 hour 50 minutes with an intermission
