portrait H. Shechter

Hofesh Shechter about The Art of Not Looking Back

Four contemporary choreographers come together for a programme that leads the Opera’s dancers to a new form of modernity where bodies vibrate with intensity.To open the evening, James Thierrée takes over the public areas of the Palais Garnier and introduces us to his dream-like world. Canada’s Crystal Pite returns with The Seasons’ Canon, a dazzling creation that thrilled audiences at the Palais Garnier last season. Spain’s Iván Pérez occupies the stage of the Opera for the first time with a creation for ten male dancers. To conclude the evening, Israel’s Hofesh Shechter, often lauded for his telluric, trance-evoking dances, offers a new version of his piece The Art of Not Looking Back.

 Les Étoiles, les Premiers Danseurs et le Corps de Ballet

A co-production of the Paris Opera, BEL AIR MEDIA and ARTE France With the support of the Orange Foundation, patron of the Paris Opera's audiovisual broadcasts, and the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animéeDirectors: Cédric Klapisch, Miguel Octave © Opéra national de Paris – Bel Air Media / France 2018Picture: © Agathe Poupeney / OnP

Soirée Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite

garnier-opa60 2

Performance of The Seasons' Canon by Noureyev at the Palais Garnier, from 23 September to 12 October 2023

Four contemporary choreographers come together for a programme that leads the Opera’s dancers to a new form of modernity where bodies vibrate with intensity. To open the evening, James Thierrée takes over the public areas of the Palais Garnier and in

Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite

Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite Evening

Director, author, composer and musician, performer, acrobat and dancer, James Thierrée was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. From 1978 to 1994, he toured with le Cirque Bonjour, le Cirque imaginaire et le Cirque invisible. Between 1994 and 2012, he worked with Peter Greenaway, Robert Wilson, Carlos Santos, Beno Besson, Coline Serreau, Agniezka Holland, Jacques Baratier, Tony Gatlif, Claude Miller, Jacques Doillon and Roschdy Zem, among others. In 1998, he created his own company La Compagnie du Hanneton. The same year, he directed The Junebug Symphony, which won the Molière Award for best public performance, directing, theatrical newcomer and best costumes for Victoria Thierrée in 2006. He directed and performed in Bright Abyss (2003), Farewell Umbrella (2007), which was awarded by the Molière Award forregional touring, Raoul (2009), Tabac Rouge (2013), awarded by the Molière for visual effects in 2014, and The Toad Knew (2016).

1999 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

2006 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2009 : Promoted to « Coryphée ». Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2010 : Promoted to « Sujet ».

2013 : AROP Dance Prize.

2014 : Promoted to « Première Danseuse ». 

2021 : Benois de la Danse Award.

On March 5th 2014, Amandine Albisson is made an "Étoile" following a performance of Onegin (John Cranko) in which she performed the role of Tatiana. 

As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, Amandine Albisson has performed in Spain (Madrid, 2019), the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi, 2019) and Japan (Tokyo, 2020). 

Amandine Albisson was named Chevalier de l'ordre national du Mérite.

Albisson Amandine

1998 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.2006 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.2010 : Promoted to « Coryphée ».2011 : Promoted to « Sujet ».2013 : Promoted to « Première danseuse ».Valentine Colasante is made an "Étoile" on January 5th 2018, following the performance of Don Quixote (Rudolf Nureyev), a ballet in which she performed the role of Kitri.As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, she has performed in Australia (Sydney, 2007), China (Beijing, 2008), Russia (Novosibirsk, 2010), Malaysia (Singapore, 2011), the United States (New York, 2017) and Spain (Madrid, 2019).

Valentine Colasante

1994 Entre à l’École de Danse de l’Opéra national de Paris (en 4e division).1998 Est engagée dans le Corps de Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris. Finaliste du Concours international de Paris.2003 Promue « Coryphée »2006 Promue « Sujet »2005 Promue « Première Danseuse » 2015 Prix Re Manfredi de la danse.

GRINSZTAJN

Marie Walter was born in Mulhouse and began learning the viola at the age of six at the  Voisins School of Music under the guidance of Jean-Yves Convert. In 2007, she was admitted into the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris in the class of Anne-Aurore Anstettet, then in, 2011, she entered the Pôle Supérieur d'enseignement Artistique Paris Boulogne-Billancourt where she was tutored by Laurent Verney. In 2014, she joined the class of Pierre-Henri Xuereb and Louis Fima at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. A keen orchestra player, she has been a regular member of the French Youth Orchestra since 2011 and has trained at the Les Siècles Orchestra Academy. In 2016, she joined the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester and participated in their European tours, under the baton of conductors Philippe Jordan and Ingo Metzmacher. In 2014, she became a founder member of the Alberta Quartet and performed with that ensemble at the Avignon Opera and the Colmar OFF Festival. Since then, she has been perfecting her skills under the guidance of Mickael Hentz, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Michel Mikalakakos, Christian Wolf, and Florin Szigeti. Marie Walter joined the Paris Opera Academy in September 2017.

WALTER-Marie-1-©-Studio-JACQVF!

Frôlons

Jerusalem-born Hofesh Shechter is an Israeli dancer and choreographer. After initially learning traditional folk dancing, he studied at the Rubin Academy of Dance and Music in Jerusalem and made his career debut as a dancer with the Batsheva Dance Company before moving on to work with the choreographers Wim Vandekeybus, Paul Selwyn-Norton, Tero Saarinen and Inbal Pinto. In 2002, he moved to London where he choreographed his first work, Fragments (2003). In 2004 he became a resident artist at The Place in London. It was during this period that he created Cult (2004, in partnership with the Sadler’s Wells Theatre—which earned him an Audience Choice Award), Uprising (2006; inspired by the urban riots in France), and In your rooms (2007, which received the Dance Critics’ Award). In 2008 he founded the Hofesh Shechter Company and took up residency at the Brighton Dome. He was also named an associate artist at the Sadler’s Wells in London as well as Guest Director of the 2014 Brighton Festival. Since then, Hofesh Shechter has continued to enrich his company’s repertoire with new works which he presents on the company’s international tours: The Choreographer’s Cut (2009, Sadler’s Wells), The Art of Not Looking Back (2009, Brighton Festival), Political Mother (2010), Survivor (2012, Barbican Centre; in collaboration with Anthony Gormley), Sun (2013), Barbarians (2015, Berliner Festspiele), C.W. Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice (2015 #HOFEST Festival, and Royal Opera House) and more recently, Grand Finale (La Villette 2017, in partnership with the Théâtre de la Ville) for which he received an Olivier Award. Hofesh Shechter also choreographs for other international dance companies, namely, the Royal Ballet, the Nederlands Dans Theater 1, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, the Bern Ballet and the Batsheva ensemble. He has also collaborated on projects for theatre, television and opera, creating works like Two Boys with the composer Nico Mulhy (the New York Metropolitan Opera, 2013) or presenting his Tony-award-winning version of Fiddler on the Roof (Broadway, 2015). In 2018, The Art of Not Looking Back entered the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet.

Studies dance at the Kishibe Ballet Studio (Tokyo) and the Australian Ballet School.
2009: Lausanne Prize.

2013: Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2014: Promoted to "Coryphée". Silver medal at the Varna Competition. Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2015: Promoted to "Sujet".

2016: Promoted to "Première danseuse". Prix Benois de la Danse. 2023: Hannah O'Neill is named "Danseuse Étoile" on March 2nd 2023, following the performance of Ballet impérial (George Balanchine) in which she performed the first principal soloist.

Hannah-O'Neill-james-bort-nb (c) James Bort OnP

Main roles: Lise / La Fille mal gardée (Ashton), Emeraudes, Rubis / Joyaux, Agon (Balanchine), Nouredda / La Source (J.-G. Bart), Amour / Orphée et Eurydice (Bausch), Serait-ce la mort ? (Béjart), Isabelle / Wuthering Heights (Belarbi), Glacial Decoy, O zlozony/O composite (Brown), pas de deux des paysans / Giselle (after Coralli and Perrot), Olga / Onéguine (Cranko), White Darkness (Duato), La Ballerine / Pétrouchka (Fokine),The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Approximate Sonata (Forsythe), Pas de trois/Paquita (Lacotte after Mazilier and Petipa), La Lune / Caligula (Le Riche), Sérénade / Suite en blanc (Lifar), La maîtresse de Lescaut / L’Histoire de Manon (Kenneth MacMillan), Triade (Millepied), Prudence / La Dame aux camélias, Mahler’s Third Symphony (Neumeier), pas de trois and danse Napolitaine / Swan Lake, pas de deux de l’Oiseau bleu / The Sleeping Beauty, L’Automne / Cendrillon, La Demoiselle d’honneur, one of the two friends and Kitri / Don Quichotte, Clémence / Raymonda (Nureyev), Créüse / Le Songe de Médée, Yasodhara / Siddharta (Preljocaj), In The Night, Dances at a Gathering (Robbins), Anna II / Les Sept Péchés capitaux (Scozzi), La Fille/Le Sacre du printemps (Taylor).

muriel zusperregguy nb

The Art of Not Looking Back

The American soprano Ailyn Pérez won the Richard Tucker Award in 2012 and the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition in 2006. She received the Beverly Sills Award in 2016 and a Sphinx Medal of Excellence in 2017. She sang the role of Violetta Valery (La Traviata) at the Zurich Opera, the Hamburg Staatsoper, the Berlin Staatsoper, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the San Francisco Opera, Milan’s La Scala and the Royal Opera House in London where she also sang the title role in Manon and made her role debut as Liù in Turandot. She has also performed the roles of Mimi (La Bohème), Thaïs (Thaïs), the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) and Alice Ford (Falstaff) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; Adina (L’elisir d’amore) in Munich, Berlin, Vienna and Washington; the Countess and Desdemona (Otello) in Houston; Alice Ford at Glyndebourne; Marguerite (Faust) in Hamburg, Chicago and Santa Fe; Amelia Grimaldi (Simon Boccanegra) at Milan’s La Scala, the Zurich Opera and the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and Mimi at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. More recently, she made role debuts as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) in Houston and Elvira (Ernani) at Milan’s La Scala and appeared at the Paris Opera in La Traviata. Her roster of roles also includes Micaela (Carmen) at London’s Royal Opera House, the title role in Manon at the Vienna Staatsoper, and Magda (La Rondine) at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples as well as the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Ailyn Pérez also sings in concert under the baton of numerous conductors, including Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Verdi’s Requiem), Antonio Pappano (Mozart’s Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony N°2), Gustavo Dudamel (Beethoven’s Mass in C Major), Emmanuel Villaume (Strauss’s Four Last Songs), and Edward Gardner (Verdi’s Requiem).

1994 Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.
1997 Joins the Corps de ballet.
2001&nbsp; He becomes a “Coryphée”.
He performs the&nbsp;The Afternoon of a Faun (Nijinsky).&nbsp;

2003&nbsp; He is made a “Sujet”. Prix AROP de la Danse.&nbsp;

2008&nbsp; He is made a “Premier danseur”.&nbsp;On June 2nd 2010, Stéphane Bullion is made an « Étoile » following a performance of La Bayadère (Rudolf Nureyev).He makes his official farewell to the stage of the Paris Opera on Saturday 4 June 2022, in Mats Ek’s pas de deux Another Place.

Bullion Stéphane

2007 : After winning the First Prize at the CNR (national conservatory) in Nantes, he enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.
2011 : He joins the Paris Opera Corps de ballet.
2014 : Promoted to "Coryphée". Bronze medal at the Varna International Dance competition.
2015 : Promoted to "Sujet". Cercle Carpeaux Prize. AROP Dance Prize. Nominated for the Benois de la Danse Prize.
2016 : Promoted to "Premier danseur".
2017 : Benois de la Danse Prize, "best dancer" category. 2018 : Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe: Arts & Culture.

Following a performance of La Sylphide (Lacotte, after Taglioni) in which he perfoms the role of James on the stage of the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo (Japan) on March 3rd 2017, he is named "Étoile".As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, he has performed in Spain (Madrid/ 2019), the United States (New York/ 2017), Japan (Tokyo/ 2017 and 2020).

Hugo Marchand

2004 :&nbsp;Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.
2010 :&nbsp;Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.2012 :&nbsp;Promoted to « Coryphée ». AROP Dance Prize, Prix du Cercle Carpeaux, Danza &amp; Danza award (Italy).
2013 :&nbsp;Promoted to « Sujet ».
2014 :&nbsp;« Premier danseur ».

François Alu&nbsp; is made an "Étoile" on Saturday April 23th 2022, following a performance of La Bayadère (Rudolf Nureyev) on the stage of the Opéra Bastille, in which he danced the role of Solor.As part of the Paris Opera Ballet's&nbsp;official tours, François Alu has performed in Spain (Madrid, 2019), Russia (Novosibirsk, 2018), Japan (Tokyo, 2017), Denmark (Copenhagen, 2015), Quebec (Montreal, 2014)...François Alu was named Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite.

francois-alu-ONP-james-bort-H1

Main roles: Le Maître de ballet / La Petite danseuse de Degas (Bart), Le Cerbère / Orphée et Eurydice (Bausch), L’Oiseau de feu, one of the two chiefs / Le Sacre du printemps (Béjart), O zlozony / O composite (Brown), Une Sorte de…, Appartement (Ek), Pas./parts, Approximate Sonata, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude (Forsythe), Mikado / Kaguyahime, Doux mensonges (Kylián), Iñigo / Paquita (Lacotte after Mazilier and Petipa), James / La Sylphide (Pierre Lacotte after Taglioni), Thésée / Phèdre (Lifar), Lacenaire / Les Enfants du paradis (Martinez), Le Meunier / Le Tricorne (Massine), Le Pasteur / Fall River Legend (Agnes de Mille), Triade (Millepied), Mahler’s Third Symphony, Gaston Rieux / La Dame aux camélias (Neumeier), Danse arabe / The Nutcracker, Le Producteur / Cendrillon, Tybalt / Roméo et Juliette, Basilio / Don Quichotte, Le Prince Désiré / Sleeping Beauty, Drosselmeyer-Le Prince/ The Nutcracker (Nureyev), Répliques (Paul), In The Night (Robbins), Roméo / Roméo et Juliette (Waltz).

vincent chaillet nb

German-born Tanja Rühl began her apprenticeship in 1999 as a stage manager at the Frankfurt Opera. After graduating, she joined the Frankfurt Ballet in 2002, then under the artistic direction of William Forsythe, as assistant lighting designer. She was appointed Head of Lighting Design in 2005, when the Forsythe Company was founded.In 2006, she completed her diploma in theatrical engineering with a specialization in lighting design. Since 2014, she has also been working freelance, collaborating with visual artists, choreographers and companies around the world.

The Male Dancer

Canadian choreographer and performer Crystal Pite is a former company member of Ballet British Columbia and William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt. Pite’s professional choreographic debut was in 1990, at Ballet British Columbia. Since then, she has created over 40 works for companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater I, Cullberg Ballet, Ballett Frankfurt, The National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (Resident Choreographer, 2001-2004), Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, and Louise Lecavalier/Fou Glorieux. She has also collaborated with Electric Company Theatre and Robert Lepage. Crystal is an Associate Choreographer of Nederlands Dans Theater, Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre, and Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells, London. In 2002, she formed her own company Kidd Pivot in Vancouver. Kidd Pivot tours nationally and internationally, performing works such as Dark Matters and Lost Action. Kidd Pivot’s residency at the Künstlerhaus Mousonturm in Frankfurt (2010-2012) provided Pite the opportunity to create and tour The You Show and The Tempest Replica. More recently, the company has premiered Betroffenheit, a co-creation with playwright and actor Jonathon Young of Electric Company Theatre. The Seasons’ Canon, her first creation for the Paris Opera ballet last season, is on the bill again at the Palais Garnier for the 2017-18 season.

2000 : Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School, after being awarded a first prize at the regional Conservatoire in Paris (CNR).

2002 : Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.&nbsp;

2005 : Promoted to "Coryphée".

2006 : Promoted to "Sujet". Receives the AROP Dance award and the Prix du Cercle Carpeaux.

2015 : Promoted to "Première danseuse".&nbsp;

Following the performance of Swan Lake (Nureyev) in which she dances the role of Odette/Odile for the first time, Laura Hecquet is made an "Étoile" on March 23rd 2015.As part of the Opera Ballet’s official tours, she has performed in Australia (Sydney, 2013), Quebec (Montreal, 2014), Denmark (Copenhagen, 2015), and Russia (Novosibirsk, 2018). Laura Hecquet bade farewell to the stage on Thursday 10 October 2024, at the end of the Ballet Défilé at the Palais Garnier on the occasion of the William Forsythe / Johan Inger programme.

Laura Hecquet

1993/1999 : Pursues her studies at the Colón Theatre Superior Institute of Art in Buenos Aires, Argentina.2000 : Joins the Santiago Ballet of Chili.2002 : Promoted to a soloist.2003 : Receives the Igor Youskevitch Award and at the 7th New York International Ballet Competition, she earns the Silver Medal as well as an engagement at the American Ballet Theatre. She joins the Corps de ballet of the Paris Opera Ballet.2007 : Promoted to « Coryphée ».2008 : Promoted to

 « Sujet ». 2009 : The Konex Award (Argentina). 2010 : Promoted to

« Première Danseuse ». 2017 : Prix Benois de la Danse (Moscou)2019 : The Konex Platinium Award (Argentina)2021 : LATFRAN Award of Excellence (France)Ludmila Pagliero was named "Danseuse Étoile" on March 22nd 2012, following a performance of the ballet La Bayadère (Rudolf Nureyev) in which she performed the role of Gamzatti.As part of the Paris Opera Ballet’s official tours, Ludmila Pagliero has performed in Russia (Moscow, 2013; Novosibirsk, 2018), Japan (2017), Spain (Madrid, 2019), France (Brest, 2016; Mulhouse 2020).

LUDMILA PAGLIERO_2019_08_OPERA_DE_PARIS_11_0005 bis (c) Matthew Brookes OnP

1990 :&nbsp;Enters the Paris Opera Ballet School.

1997 :&nbsp;Joins the Paris Opera Corps de Ballet.

2004 :&nbsp;Promoted to « Coryphée ». Dances Eurydice / Orphée et Eurydice (Pina Bausch).

2005 :&nbsp;Promoted to&nbsp;« Sujet ».

2008&nbsp;:&nbsp;AROP Dance Prize.

2012 :&nbsp;Promoted to « Première danseuse ». 

Alice Renavand was named "Danseuse Étoile" on December 20th 2013, following the performance of Le Parc (Angelin Preljocaj) in which she danced the main female role for the first time. Alice Renavand was named Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Renavand Alice

Main roles: Colas / La Fille mal gardée (Ashton), Emeraudes, Rubis / Joyaux, Symphonie en ut, Concerto Barocco, Agon, Les Quatre Tempéraments (Balanchine), Zaël / La Source (J.-G. Bart), Frantz / Coppélia (Bart), Variations pour une porte et un soupir (Béjart), O zlozony/O composite (Brown), Pas de deux des paysans / Giselle (after Coralli and Perrot), White Darkness (Duato), Appartement (Ek), The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Approximate Sonata, Artifact Suite, Pas./parts (Forsythe), Pavane (Kelemenis), Doux mensonges, Bella Figura (Kylián), Pas de trois / Paquita (Lacotte after Petipa), Suite en blanc (Lifar), Pas de trois / Swan Lake, Mercutio / Roméo et Juliette, le Chef des gitans / Don Quichotte, Professeur de danse and Producteur / Cendrillon, L’Idole dorée / La Bayadère, Drosselmeyer-le Prince / The Nutcracker (Nureyev), Le Clown / Les Forains, Frederi / L’Arlésienne (Petit), Un Trait d’union (Preljocaj), le Mari / The Concert, Dances at a Gathering (Robbins).

alessio carbone nb

Nancy Bryant is a Canadian costumes designer for dance, theatre, opera and cinema. She collaborated with Crystal Pite for her works Parade and Plot Point created for the Dans Theater, The Tempest Replica with the company Kidd Pivot and Betroffenheit for Kidd Pivot and the Electric Company Theatre. She also worked with the Monte-Carlo Ballet, the Stuttgart Ballet, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, the British Columbia Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada. She has designed for theatre directors and artists such as Stan Douglas, Helen Lawrence, Morris Panych for many of his productions (among which The Overcoat) and Kim Collier for Tear the Curtain. She designed costumes for a few theatres in Vancouver, where she has been living for twenty-five years, but also for Canadian companies like The Shaw Festival and the Canadian Stage. Nancy Bryant designed costumes for the operas Sweeney Todd (Sondheim), L’Opéra de quat’sous (Weill) at the Vancouver Opera, The Gold of the Rhine, Der Fliegende Holländer (Wagner), Rodelinda (Haendel) and The Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky) at the Pacific Opera Victoria.

Born into a theatrical family, Thomas Visser grew up in the Irish
countryside. Visser began working on musical theatre productions at the
age of 18 and before moving into contemporary dance collaborations at age 24. Visser has worked with renowned performing arts companies including Nederlands
Dans Theater, The Royal Ballet, Paris Opera, The Norwegian National Ballet, Les
Ballet de Monte-Carlo, The Royal Swedish Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and Sadlers
Wells to name a few. Visser has created original lighting designs for
choreographers including Alexander Ekman, Johan Inger, Crystal Pite, Stijn
Celis, Medhi Walerski, Lukas Timulak and Joeri Dubbe. Since 2016, Visser has
started creating his own projects including art installations and interactive
media.

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Extras

Hofesh Shechter about The Art of Not Looking Back

Performance of The Seasons' Canon by Noureyev at the Palais Garnier, from 23 September to 12 October 2023

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The acts

Frôlons

Creatives

The Art of Not Looking Back

Creatives

The Male Dancer

Creatives

The Seasons’ Canon

Creatives

Hofesh Shechter about The Art of Not Looking Back

Performance of The Seasons' Canon by Noureyev at the Palais Garnier, from 23 September to 12 October 2023