The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, was born in Jérémie, Saint-Domingue (Haiti) in 1762, the son of the Marquis and Marie-Cessette Dumas, his Haitian slave. In addition to being the father of French novelist Alexandre Dumas, he was the grandfather of playwright Alexandre Dumas, known for "La Dame aux Camélias", the source for Giuseppe Verdi's "La traviata". Dumas was born the son of a renegade French nobleman and his black slave in 1762 in the French sugar colony of Saint Domingue (the future Haiti); at the time of his birth, his father was living on the run from the royal authorities
Agnès Letestu première danseuse in 1993. She demonstrated her talents to this major ballet company and was named étoile after a performance of "Swan Lake" in October 1997. As of 2009, Agnes Letestu was nearly at the end of her ballerina career (she was then 38) but she hopes to continue to live her passion for ballet through teaching to the youngest. In October, 2013, she appeared in 'La Dame aux Camelias' at The Paris Opera Ballet in her farewell performance for the company, portraying Marguerite Gautier to great acclaim. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (Forsythe), Etudes (Lander), Gamzatti in La Bayadère