Référence · Top 10

👑 Top 10 Ballet Princes

Full disclosure: I tried to find ten actual princes and I could NOT, because most ballet princes are, frankly, a mess (see the next list). So this ranking includes pirates, a slave, a caterpillar and one (1) magical horse — all of whom out-prince the actual princes.

1. 1. Ali (Le Corsaire)

   Technically ‘just’ the slave. Actually the greatest male variation in all of ballet. Carries the most famous pas de deux on Earth, asks for zero credit, steals the entire show. King behaviour from a man with no crown. 👑

   

2. 2. The Caterpillar (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)

   Hypnotic, unbothered, and blessed with the best dance in the whole ballet. Anyone who manages to make a full body wave a legit dance move definitely stays. And ending on 16 legs fitted with sparkly, yes SPARKLY, pointe shoes brings him into ICON territory. Never causes a single problem. The bar is underground and he still soars over it. (Yes, the Caterpillar counts as a gentleman. My list, my rules.)

   

3. 3. The Bluebird (The Sleeping Beauty)

   Not in the rest of this book, so meet him: at Princess Aurora’s wedding in The Sleeping Beauty, the fairy-tale guests arrive one by one, and the best of them is the Bluebird, who dances the famous Bluebird pas de deux with Princess Florine. His variation is basically a flying lesson — a storm of little beaten jumps (brisés volés, for the connoisseurs) that make him look genuinely airborne. It’s one of the hardest showcase roles ever made for a man, it’s over in about ninety seconds, and he causes zero problems the entire time. No drama, no love triangle, just excellence. More princes should be birds. One key flaw, and I say this with love: I just wish he was a PINK bird. Complaint filed. 🩷

   

4. 4. Conrad (Le Corsaire)

   A pirate with a heart of gold: actually rescues his girl, survives a mutiny AND a shipwreck, stays devoted the whole way through. The romance standard, set by an outlaw. Do better, royals.

   

5. 5. The Nutcracker Prince

   Starts the evening as a kitchen utensil. Still fights an entire mouse army for a girl he just met, then escorts her to the Land of Sweets like a gentleman. Loyalty: 10/10.

   

6. 6. Colas (La Fille mal gardée)

   He’s from La Fille mal gardée, which isn’t in this book but absolutely deserves this spot — it’s one of the OLDEST ballets still performed (1789! it premiered before the French Revolution even finished!), and it’s a sunny farm comedy instead of a tragedy. Colas is a young farmer in love with Lise, whose mother wants her to marry a rich, ridiculous simpleton instead. Colas’s plan? No dice, no duels, no faked deaths — he’s just funny, faithful and lovely until love wins. There’s a ribbon dance, a real pony, and a mum played by a bloke in clogs. Possibly the only fully green-flag boyfriend in classical ballet.

   

7. 7. Basilio (Don Quixote)

   Chaotic? Yes. He fakes his own death in the town square to get married. But it’s ALL for love, it works, and he is never once boring. Respect the hustle.

   

8. 8. Ferhad (The Legend of Love)

   Gives up the girl he loves to dig through an actual mountain so thirsty people can have water. Devastatingly noble. Would never tear up your letter.

   

9. 9. Quasimodo (La Esmeralda)

   The kindest soul in his entire ballet, protects Esmeralda when nobody else will, personally removes the villain. Asks for nothing. Has my whole heart.

   

10. 10. The Little Humpbacked Horse

    Yes, a horse. Told you 10 was a stretch. Loyal, clever, solves every single problem, and carries his human through the entire ballet. Still a better prince than everyone on the next list. 🐴