Jose Martinez, dance director, and Vanessa Paradis attend the Patrick DuPont Memorial Gala at Opéra Garnier. (Paris, February 21, 2023) Francois Goise
This year, the Paris Opera Dance Gala, sponsored by the houses of Chanel and Rolex, paid tribute to the memory of the virtuoso star dancer Patrick DuPont, who died in 2021 at the age of 61. Celebrities were on a date in Paris this Tuesday, February 21.
This Tuesday evening, the divine constellation converged on the Opéra Garnier. Yesterday’s and today’s stars met to pay tribute to Patrick DuPont. For this exclusive edition, the new dance director José Martínez and the general director of the Opera, Alexander Neef, have indeed invited former stars such as Marie-Claude Pietragalla, Manuel Legris or Marie-Agnes Gillot to appear on stage. In Garnier Palace. Opening the gala, the traditional fashion show brought together all the dancers, from the youngest members of the École de danse to stars whose tutus and tiaras were stamped with Chanel.
In the video, Halle Berry violently falls on stage at a charity gala in Los Angeles.
Vanessa, Lina, Annamaria…
In the program of the evening, symbolic works from the repertoire of Patrick DuPont. Vaslav by John Neumeier to piano music by Johann Sebastian Bach, and the song of the wandering companion By Maurice Béjard, with superb commentary by stars Germaine Louve and Hugo Marchant. Funds collected during the event will be used to benefit Arop’s activities.
On the VIP side, Vanessa Paradis, Lina Khoudry, Anne Berest or Annamaria Bartholomew appeared at the Chanel dinner tables served under the gilded fireplaces of the Palais Garnier.
Prodigy dancer of the Paris Opera
Patrick DuPont Vaslav in 1980. Jacques Moatti
Trained at an early age at the Paris School of Opera and Dance, Patrick DuPont became a prima ballerina in 1980 at the age of 21 and enjoyed cult star status for almost a decade. Then he took over the dance leadership of the Paris Opera in 1990-1995, succeeding the great Rudolf Nureyev.
To please, to seduce, to amuse, to charm, I have the impression that I lived only for this
Patrick Dupont
The eternal star thus worked with outstanding dancers and the greatest choreographers of his time, such as Maurice Bejart, John Neumeier, Roland Petit and Alvin Ailey. In a glittering and dazzling career, the French dancer, with her flamboyant personality, has thus been able to shine on every continent, inspiring a whole generation of stars who see in her determination and supreme grace.
In the video: the transparent dress, the sources of the planetary phenomenon
Source: Le Figaro
