Mireille Nègre: An “Ordained“ Dancer (2013)

Appointed as a Paris Opera principal dancer at age 22, Mireille Nègre’s early career led her to work with the greatest artists of her field—including Dominique Khalfouni, Noëlla Pontois, Wilfride Piollet, Ghislaine Thesmar, Claude Bessy, Michaël Denard, and Rudolf Nureyev—and she quickly became one of the most prestigious dancers of her times. Then after just six years, the international artist entered a Limoges convent and became a Carmelite nun, and a decade later joined the Vouvant Visitation Monastery in the Vendée region of France. From the Carmelites of Limoges to the Paris Opera by way of her apartment and dance academy, this documentary by Marlène Ionesco takes us on a journey to the places closest to the heart of this incredibly multifaceted individual: a daughter of the Church, a writer, a choreographer, and a representative of the nonprofit Danser pour la Paix (“Dance for Peace”).