Park Sae-eun has become the first Asian ballerina to reach the top etoile (star) rank at the world's oldest ballet institution.

She and Ludmila Pagliero are the only two foreign-born etoiles currently at Paris Opera Ballet.

Here she is getting her etoile nomination back in June.

The 31-year-old has been with the Paris Opera Ballet for a decade, joining the institution in 2011 after quitting the Korean National Ballet.

According to Korea Times, she had to learn the French ballet style from scratch, having trained in the Russian style.

"I had to learn the French ballet style from the beginning, which has different details than that of Russia. So I was continuously told to fix my ballet into the French way."

Speaking to AFP, Park spoke about her new rank in the Ballet.

"I believe that art - not just dance - transcends nationality and race," Park told Agence France-Presse. "I became the first Asian ballerina to be an etoile and it's very much become a talking point, but I think of it as something that's very natural."

Image from Park's Instagram and Opera national de Paris' YouTube