Museum Studies Student Muriel Maffre Knighted by French Ministry of Culture
Muriel Maffre, former principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet and current student in the MA program in Museum Studies, has been named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. The award was presented by French General Consul Pierre-François Mourier at a ceremony in San Francisco on Dec. 4. (Click here for Muriel's remarks at the event.)
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is an Order of France, established in 1957, by the Ministry of Culture and honors those who have made significant contributions to the arts. Past recipients include Toni Morrison, Jackson Pollock, William Faulkner and Paul Taylor.
Maffre was born in Enghien-les Bains, France, a small village west of Paris, and began her performing career on an outdoor tennis court because her village lacked a theater. At nine, she was accepted to the Paris Opéra Ballet School where she stayed until the age of 16 when she exceeded the school's height limits and could no longer study at the famed institution.
Unfazed by this potential hindrance to pursue her dance training, she continued her studies at the Conservatoire National de Paris and graduated First Prize, with honors. After graduation, she danced with the Hamburg Ballet, won a gold medal at the first Paris International Dance Competition and became a soloist with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. Her insatiable thirst for stimulating environments brought her in 1990 to the San Francisco Ballet with whom she performed until retiring in 2007. However, she continues to perform as a guest artist.
Maffre has a Bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College and is currently working on her Master of Arts in Museum Studies at JFK University.
Muriel Maffre in Dying Swan
Links:
Consulate General of France in San Francisco
SFGate
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is an Order of France, established in 1957, by the Ministry of Culture and honors those who have made significant contributions to the arts. Past recipients include Toni Morrison, Jackson Pollock, William Faulkner and Paul Taylor.
Maffre was born in Enghien-les Bains, France, a small village west of Paris, and began her performing career on an outdoor tennis court because her village lacked a theater. At nine, she was accepted to the Paris Opéra Ballet School where she stayed until the age of 16 when she exceeded the school's height limits and could no longer study at the famed institution.
Unfazed by this potential hindrance to pursue her dance training, she continued her studies at the Conservatoire National de Paris and graduated First Prize, with honors. After graduation, she danced with the Hamburg Ballet, won a gold medal at the first Paris International Dance Competition and became a soloist with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. Her insatiable thirst for stimulating environments brought her in 1990 to the San Francisco Ballet with whom she performed until retiring in 2007. However, she continues to perform as a guest artist.
Maffre has a Bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College and is currently working on her Master of Arts in Museum Studies at JFK University.
Muriel Maffre in Dying Swan
Links:
Consulate General of France in San Francisco
SFGate