Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris
| Paris Opera Ballet | |
|---|---|
Opéra national de Paris
|
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| General information | |
| Name | Paris Opera Ballet |
| Local name | Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris |
| Previous names |
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| Year founded | 1669 |
| Principal venue |
Palais Garnier, Place de l'Opéra, Paris, 9th arrondissement, France |
| Website | https://www.operadeparis.fr/ |
| Senior staff | |
| Administrator | Olivier Aldeano |
| Director | Aurélie Dupont |
| Artistic staff | |
| Ballet Master in Chief |
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| Other | |
| Associated schools | Paris Opera Ballet School |
| Formation | Étoile Premier Danseur Sujet Coryphée Quadrille |
The Paris Opera Ballet (French: "Ballet de l'Opéra national de Paris") is an integral part of the Paris Opera and the oldest national ballet company. Together with the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet and the London Royal Ballet it is regarded as one of the three most preeminent ballet companies in the world.
Since August 2016 the company has been under the direction of Aurélie Dupont, the "Directrice de la Danse".
The ballet company consists of 154 dancers, among them 17 Danseurs Étoiles. The principal dancer give 180 dance performances each year, primarily at the Palais Garnier.
Just as prestigious as the Paris Opera Ballet is its dance school, the Paris Opera Ballet School (French: "École de danse de l'Opéra national de Paris"), considered as the world's best dance school. Its former pupils have won a record of 20 Benois de la Danse awards. The school celebrated its tercentennial in 2013.
The competition for admission to both institutions is extremely fierce. To be admitted there, to pass the annual competitive examinations in May, and to attend at least the final two classes is basically compulsory for dancers entering the Paris Opera Ballet.
As its Ballet School is excellent and graduates many young dancers who are or the most part (95%) French, there are hardly any foreigners in the Paris Opera Ballet Company.
The Paris Opera Ballet has always been an integral part of the Paris Opera, which was founded in 1669 as the Académie d'Opéra (Academy of Opera), although theatrical dance did not become an important component of the Paris Opera until 1673, after it was renamed the Académie Royale de Musique (Royal Academy of Music) and placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully. The Paris Opera has had many different official names during its long history but since 1994 has been called the Opéra National de Paris (Paris National Opera).
The Paris Opera Ballet had its origins in the earlier dance institutions, traditions and practices of the court of Louis XIV. Of particular importance were the series of comédies-ballets created by Molière with, among others, the choreographers and composers Pierre Beauchamps and Jean-Baptiste Lully. The first was Les Fâcheux in 1661 and the most important, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme in 1670. Many of these were also performed by Molière's company at the public Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris, which was later to become the first permanent home of the opera company and the opera ballet.
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Wikipedia