Aurélie Dupont (born 15 January 1973 in Paris) is a French

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer who performed with the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...

as an '' Étoile''. She began her career in dance in 1983 when she entered the Paris Opera Ballet School (''L’École de danse de l’Opéra de Paris''). She joined the company at age sixteen in 1989, and became a ''première danseuse'' in December 1996. Dupont was promoted to star dancer (''Étoile'') in 1998 after her performance as Kitri in Paris Opera Ballet's revival of Nureyev's production of ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

''. She has also starred in Paris Opera Ballet's revival of Nureyev's version of '' The Sleeping Beauty''. In 2010,

Cédric Klapisch Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to ...

released a documentary about Dupont, ''L'espace d'un instant'', which had been made over the previous two years. Dupont formally retired from the Paris Opera stage following a performance of

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'' on 18 May 2015. It was announced on 5 Feb 2016 that she would be the next director of dance for the Paris Opera Ballet after the resignation of

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has als ...

. In June 2022, Dupont announced that she would leave the company the following month.

Repertoire

Dupont's repertoire includes: * ''

'' * ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is an 1877 ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus and libretto by . The ba ...

'' * '' Sylvia'' * ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'' * ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' * ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' * '' The Sleeping Beauty'' * ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

'' * ''

Les Sylphides () is a short, non-narrative '' ballet blanc'' to piano music by Frédéric Chopin, selected and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie","Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact disk of ABT's product ...

'' * ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

'' * '' The Four Temperaments'' * ''

'' * '' Onegin''

Awards

* 1992 : Gold medallist at the Varna International Ballet Competition (category juniors) * 1993 : Winner of the French * 1994 : Winner of the AROP ( Association pour le rayonnement de l'Opéra national de Paris) * 2002 :

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

* 2005 : Chevalier of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

Media

Book

* — Covers her training and dancing career.

Documentary

Performances

; Paris Opera Ballet * 1999: '' The Sleeping Beauty'', vers. by

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of his generation as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all ...

, with Manuel Legris. * 2002: ''

'', vers. by

, with Manuel Legris. * 2004: ''

'', vers. by

Pierre Lacotte Pierre Lacotte (4 April 1932 – 10 April 2023) was a French ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director. He specialised in the reconstruction of lost choreographies of romantic ballets. Early life Lacotte was born on 4 April 19 ...

, with Mathieu Ganio. * 2005: '' Sylvia'', vers. by

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He was the director and principal choreographer of Hamburg Ballet from 1973 to 2024 and the artistic director of the ballet at the Hamburg State ...

. * 2010: ''Siddharta'', by

Angelin Preljocaj Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance. Early life Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanians, Albanian descent. His father was born in Vermosh bu ...

, with Nicolas Le Riche. * 2012: ''

'', vers. by Rudolf Nureyev, with Josua Hoffalt. * 2012: ''Romeo and Juliet'', by

Sasha Waltz Sasha Alexandra Waltz (born 8 March 1963, Karlsruhe) is a German choreographer, dancer and leader of the dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests. Biography Waltz is the daughter of an architect and a curator. At the age of five years she had her ...

, with Hervé Moreau. * 2015: ''

L'histoire de Manon ''L'histoire de Manon'', generally referred to as ''Manon'', is a ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to music by Jules Massenet and based on the 1731 novel '' Manon Lescaut'' by Abbé Prévost. The ballet was first performed by The Roya ...

'', by

, with

Roberto Bolle Roberto Bolle (born 26 March 1975) is an Italian danseur. He is a principal dancer ''étoile'' at La Scala Theatre Ballet. Bolle also dances regularly as a guest artist with the world’s leading companies, including The Royal Ballet, the Ma ...

— farewell performance. ; Other * 2019: ''Written on Water'' (dance film), by Pontus Lidberg, with Alexander Jones (

Ballett Zürich Ballett Zürich, formerly known as Zürich Ballet, is the largest professional ballet company in Switzerland. Its principal venue is the Zürich Opera House and it regularly tours across the country. The company includes an ensemble cast of 36 d ...

References

External links

''Ballet'' magazine interview, December 2003
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dupont, Aurelie French prima ballerinas 1973 births Living people Prix Benois de la Danse winners Paris Opera Ballet étoiles Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres