In this effervescent one-act ballet, dancers ritualistically rehearse simple movements such as pliés and tendus until they are equipped to take flight and launch themselves into more elaborate jetés and sautés. Having entered the Paris Opera’s repertoire in 1952, the late Danish choreographer Harald Lander’s Études once again made a return to the stage. At 24-years-old, the American choreographer is something of a supernova in the dance world, and through this tender and playful duet, she wanted to reflect the sense of nostalgia for childhood naivety with the soundtrack, Cello Song by British singer-songwriter Nick Drake evoked. The second work, Clouds Inside by Tess Voelker, made for an uplifting halftime performance. Brise-lames, as Jalet wrote in the program is “a metaphor for the resilience, force, and vulnerability of the front line.” During France’s second lockdown, the Belgian-French choreographer realized this complex sequence of fluid, interlacing movements for nine dancers inspired by the crests and troughs of the ocean. The first was Brise-lames (Breakwater) by Damien Jalet, who recently premiered his latest work Planet at the Théâtre National de Chaillot. Two contemporary works commissioned by Dupont followed.
The prima ballerinas wore tutus, corsets, and tiaras that were made in collaboration between Chanel, the Opera’s ateliers, and the embroiderers Lesage continuing the couture house’s long affiliation with dance, which began in 1920 when Gabrielle Chanel helped Serge Diaghilev revive The Rite of Spring (1913). Staying true to tradition, the opening act was the défilé du ballet, a procession bringing together all of the company’s dancers, from the school’s pupils to the étoiles. And when it ends, you will never see that exact same performance again.”ĭressed in Chanel jewelry and a black cotton gilet and matching trousers from the spring 2021 collection, Dupont welcomed guests to the gala from the stage alongside director general Alexander Neef and introduced the evening’s program. If you don’t have the reaction, if you don’t have the orchestra, if you don’t have the lights, it’s not the same. “But dancers are born to be on stage with a live audience. “Film has been a great way for the public to see our performances,” she says. Gustavo Dudamel inaugurated his first season at the Palais Garnier by taking the audience-French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte among them-on a journey through over a century of opera, from Georges Bizet’s Carmen to John Adams’ Doctor Atomic.Īs the director of dance Aurélie Dupont told me later in the evening, the atmosphere backstage was a combination of excitement and nervousness. Just two nights earlier, the newly appointed musical director,
The return to live dance performance after 18 months of interruptions due to the pandemic added to the air of anticipation in the auditorium as the audience took their seats under the Marc Chagall-painted ceiling. On Friday, guests ascended the grand marble staircase, a piece of theater in itself, which along with its 30 meter-high vault, was dressed in a cascade of satin ribbons identical to the ones used to tie ballet shoes-scenography designed by the Opera Ballet’s patron Chanel. Arriving at the Palais Garnier is an almost ecclesiastical experience on any given day, but especially so on the night of the opening gala for the Opéra National de Paris’ dance season.
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