Guillaume Graffin

Following his dance training at the Conservatoire in Paris and the famous École de Danse de l’Opéra national de Paris, Guillaume Graffin (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) was accepted for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1983 by ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev. After two years, he joined Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in the rank of principal. In 1988, another ballet legend, Mikhail Baryshnikov, took him to American Ballet Theatre.

Graffin has danced all the principal roles in the classical repertoire, standing out for the romantic lyricism of his interpretations. He started working as a ballet master during the last years of his career as a dancer, after which he was appointed ballet master and coach with American Ballet Theatre, a position he held from 2000 to 2005. During that period, he also performed several character roles with the company.

In 2005, he moved to the Netherlands, where he joined Dutch National Ballet as a ballet master. Graffin is internationally renowned for his coaching skills.