“'Swan Lake' can be a nightmare. To make a 'Swan Lake' that is worth it, every single movement and breath has to be perfect. When you have an idea of 'Swan Lake' that is as high as that, it's almost impossible.”

French ballet dancer

Sylvie Guillem is a French ballet dancer, best known for her career with the Paris Opera Ballet and later as a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She was born in 1965. From 1984 to 1989, Guillem was the top-ranking female dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet. She later expanded into contemporary dance as an Associate Artist of Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. Among her best-known performances are Giselle and Rudolf Nureyev's stagings of Swan Lake and Don Quixote. In November 2014, she announced that she would retire from the stage in 2015.