Clerc Milon Prize 2025: When Dance meets Wine

When Dance Meets a Grand Cru Classé from Pauillac: The 2025 Clerc Milon Dance Prize Celebrates the Art of Movement and Terroir

This prize symbolizes the enduring bond between the Bordeaux National Opera Ballet and Baronne Philippine de Rothschild and her family.

Under the gilded ceiling of the Opéra National de Bordeaux (ONB), on October 9th, 2025, emotion filled the air. Following the final rehearsal of the new ballet Wake Up!, two of its dancers, Perle Vilette de Callenstein and Simon Asselin, were awarded the 2025 Clerc Milon Dance Prize. Since its creation in 2016, this distinction has woven a dialogue between the grace of dance and the elegance of fine wine, through the Fondation d’Entreprise Philippine de Rothschild, a loyal patron of the Opera.

Born from the encounter between Château Clerc Milon (Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac), a gem of the Médoc vineyards and the performing arts, the prize celebrates the patient, precise gestures that give birth to emotion. One of Clerc Milon’s wines, aptly named Pastourelle, recalls a traditional dance a poetic bridge between stage and cellar. Like winemaking, dance demands time, rigor, passion, precision, and listening. Both arts share a common mantra: cultivating beauty, honoring patience, and inspiring emotion.

Presided over by Brigitte Lefèvre, a leading figure of French dance, and Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, the jury, composed of Ludmila Pagliero, Fanny de Chaillé, and Mehdi Kerkouche honored two artists who embody the vitality of the Bordeaux Ballet and the excellence of its artistic terroir.
Perle Vilette de Callenstein, trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School and part of Bordeaux’s Ballet since 2017, embodies the finesse of a fine white wine: luminous, precise, classic yet daring. “Representing the Corps de Ballet for this prize is a tremendous honor. Dance is about harmony and sharing, much like a great blend where every note finds its balance.”
Simon Asselin, trained in Lille, Paris, and the Conservatoire National Supérieur, is a free spirit, dancer, choreographer, and poet. His multidimensional approach evokes a complex wine: both sensual and cerebral. “Receiving this prize before a young audience was moving, like tasting the fruit of long labor, the vintage of my early years on stage.”

Beyond recognition, the Clerc Milon Dance Prize reflects the mission of the Fondation Philippine de Rothschild: uniting the arts and the vine in a shared spirit of generosity. Founded in memory of Baronne Philippine de Rothschild, actress turned wine ambassador, the Foundation helps bring the performing arts to life across the Bordeaux region, supporting school programs, masterclasses, and free public screenings an enduring dialogue between culture, terroir, and emotion.