Born in February of 1965, French ballerina Sylvie Guillem originally trained to be a gymnast before enrolling in the Paris Opera Ballet School at age 11. At 16, she was promoted into the Company and a year later, after winning the Varna International Ballet Competition, Guillem became an Etoile of the company after her first performance of Swan Lake. She went on to create a lead role for William Forsythe's modern ballet In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated in 1987, before shocking her fellow Company ...