Ludmila Pagliero

Career Trajectory

Pagliero began her professional career at sixteen with the Ballet of Santiago in 2000, quickly establishing herself in classical roles before securing a developmental year with American Ballet Theatre in 2003 through the Igor Youskevitch Award. She joined the Paris Opera Ballet as a soloist and rose through the ranks with uncommon swiftness, becoming in 2012 the first South American dancer ever promoted to étoile—a rank she maintained for thirteen years, dancing the great classical and contemporary roles with technical brilliance and dramatic depth. Her retirement in 2025 concluded a career that fundamentally expanded the geographic and cultural horizons of one of ballet's most storied institutions.