Dancers, who make up the entire company, are assigned specific roles in which they can perform on stage. Assignment is based on experience, skill, appropriate body type, but also on having the stage personality necessary to perform each role. The basis of the ensemble structure is the corps de ballet, which performs synchronized dances as a group and provides the background for the artists who perform independently.
An intermediate function is performed by the corps de ballet and the coryphée, dancers who do not yet have the title of soloist but who no longer perform in the corps de ballet. They are responsible for dancing the smaller solo parts.
Principals and first soloists are members of the entire company and dance the principal roles in the show. Some First Soloists are given the title of Principal, a distinction reserved for the greatest stars of the entire company, which is called differently in different countries (e.g., l'etoile in France, which literally means star).
