Danseur étoile (for men) or danseuse étoile (for women), literally "star dancer", is the highest rank a dancer can reach at the Paris Opera Ballet. It is equivalent to the title "principal dancer" used in English or to the title "primo ballerino" or "prima ballerina" in Italian.
The term étoile had been used to designate the best soloists of the Paris Opera Ballet since the 19th century, but it was only in 1940 that ballet master Serge Lifar decided to codify the title at the top of the company's hierarchy. Unlike all lower ranks in the Ballet (quadrille, coryphée, sujet, premier danseur), promotion to étoile does not depend on success in the annual competitive examinations. Dancers have to perform in leading roles, sometimes for many years, before they can be accorded the rank by the director of the Paris Opera, after nomination by the head of the ballet (directeur de la danse), in recognition of outstanding excellence and merit.
