Monique Loudières was born in Choisy-le-Roi, a suburb of Paris, France. After studying for five years at the Paris Opera Ballet School, she was admitted to the Paris Opera at the age of 16. In 1982 Ms. Loudières was promoted to the rank of Étoile. Ms. Loudières danced the roles of dramatic heroines in Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, and Onegin. She also danced leading roles in the ballets of contemporary choreographers including Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, and John Neumeier. She has also worked with Alvin Ailey, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Martha Graham, Jiri Kylian, Serge Lifar, Kenneth MacMilan, Roland Petit, Paul Taylor, and Twyla Tharp. Ms. Loudières danced as a guest artist around the globe in performances with Boston Ballet, Tokyo Ballet, La Scala, The Royal Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet and at the Havana Ballet Festival. In 1993. She was awarded the Grand Prix National de la Danse and was decorated in 1996 as a Commandeur des Arts et Lettres. After retiring from the stage in 1996, Ms. Loudières was the Artistic and Pedagogical Director at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower. She has served as the classical coach for the Prix de Lausanne and currently is an international freelance teacher and coach.