http://fr.news.yahoo.com/20112006/202/ball...a-scene-de.html

The POB has officially announced that Laurent Hilaire will have his farewell performance on December 10, as Albrecht in Giselle. Since March 2005, he's one of the ballet masters of the company (I guess that perhaps he took that position a bit before the retirement age because a position was available at that moment and such opportunities don't happen often), and was not listed among the "étoiles" any longer, but this performance will be his last official performance as "étoile"...

I guess that performance must have been sold out weeks ago !

An era is close to its end. I remember when POB toured New York in the 1980's, and Hilaire and Legris were the two young stars of the Company whose performances were as eagerly anticipated as the young Sylvie Guillem's.

I have tickets to the performance - It should be a very special night, with a stellar cast (Dupont, Gillot, Romoli) to celebrate his long career with the POB. I'll try to report back if anyone is interested.

Yes, yes, yes !!!!!

Azulynn, lucky you !!

Please report back- and also about other performances if you see some...

Laurent Hilaire has cancelled the performance - Manuel Legris states on his website that he will replace him, and Hervé Moreau as well, who has pulled off his scheduled performances. That's really too bad, as I don't think Hilaire will get another chance to do a last performance - there's nothing else really fit in the repertoire this year...

Oh, how sad It must be hugely disappointing for all the fans of Hilaire who had bought tickets for that performance, what a pity !

Do you think there's any hope his farewell performance could be postponed to next season, if nothing is suitable this season ? I never really understood the procedure for farewell performances, especially with the new rules about the retirement age which make things more complicated (for example, when is Kader Belarbi expected to retire ? His age probably is quite close to that of Hilaire...), for example if I remember correctly Carole Arbo never really got a "real" farewell performance, her last performances were in Robbins' "Other Dances", in the middle of a program (and not in a full-length work like "Giselle", "La Sylphide", "Romeo and Juliet", etc. as it generally is the case).

I have no idea, Estelle. I hope the POB will figure out something, but Hilaire might not be able to dance a full-length again next year - he hasn't danced one in more than a year and a half, and has had to pull off this last performance, which might mean it's now hard for him to get back on full form... I wish he had a proper farewell though, it would be more than deserved. We shall see if the management figures something out, or if he even wants to have one in a different ballet.