The Opéra National de Paris’s Latest Gala Paid Homage to Patrick Dupond

The Paris Opéra Ballet’s annual gala fundraiser in late February was particularly emotive as it paid tribute to the late Patrick Dupond, who died in March 2021. A dance virtuoso in the truest sense, at just 17, while a junior member of the Paris Opéra’s corps de ballet, Dupond became the first French dancer to win gold at the Varna International Ballet Competition, setting him on track to ascend to danseur étoile by the time he was 21. Over the years, he would collaborate with a variety of choreographers, from Alvin Ailey and Maurice Béjart to Roland Petit and Twyla Tharp, before returning to the Paris Opéra as its youngest-ever dance director. As the incumbent dance director José Martinez—who was appointed in October after the departure of Aurelie Dupont a few months earlier—put it in his opening address at the gala: “Patrick was, is and will be a source of inspiration for all dancers. More than a star, a comet, a meteor.”

A film in homage to Dupond was screened, which combined dramatic black-and-white photos of productions such as John Neumeier’s Vaslaw; footage of performances alongside the likes of Rudolf Nureyev and Jean-Marie Didière; and clips of Dupond off stage displaying his “unparalleled humor” (to borrow Martinez’s words) goofing around with his dog in a park. It was a poignant moment for the audience, which included Vanessa Paradis, Whitney Peak, Lyna Khoudri, Karidja Touré, and Alma Jodorowsky, as well as Dupond’s mother Nicole Charles and Leïla Da Rocha—the dance partner with whom he co-founded the White Eagle Dance Company in Bordeaux. 

Even the défilé du ballet carried Dupond’s signature, as the traditional procession of all the company’s dancers, from school pupils to the étoiles, culminated in the return of 40 former étoiles, including Claude Bessy, Florence Clerc, Marie-Claude Pietragalla and Marie-Agnès Gillot – a nod to his 1990 opening gala. For the défilé, the prima ballerinas wore costumes and tiaras created by Chanel under the artistic direction of Virginie Viard: a collaborative effort between Chanel (a partner of the Opéra along with Rolex), the Opéra’s own ateliers and the embroiderer Lesage, part of the fashion house’s Métiers d Art.

Then came the performances—three ballets starting with Marc Moreau in the title role of Vaslaw, which Neumeier choreographed especially for Dupond, and celebrates the memory of another great dancer: Vaslav Nijinsky. Germain Louvet and Hugo Marchand performed Le Chant du Compagnon Errant by Maurice Béjart, a moving pas de deux that Dupond danced with both Didière and Nureyev. “Béjart understood me completely, my ambivalence, my half-male, half-female selves,” Dupond said of working with the choreographic expressionist in a 2007 interview. Finally, one of the Opéra’s brightest rising stars Guillaume Diop took center stage with étoiles Paul Marque and Valentine Colasante in Harald Lander’s Études, which transposes the daily ritual of a ballet class, refining it for the stage.

After the final round of applause, 750 guests made the short walk from the auditorium, past the Grand Staircase, which was decked in giant pink ribbons inspired by ballet dancers’ pumps and Eric Chauvin floral arrangements, to the Grand Foyer for a seated dinner. Dripping in gold leaf, giant chandeliers illuminated the vast room with its tapestries and Paul Baudry-frescoed ceiling. The menu was the work of four of France’s brightest culinary stars. An amuse-bouche prepared by Tatiana Levha of the French-Filipino fusion restaurant Le Servan, served during the intermission, was followed by an entrée of beetroot, sumac, pomegranate, almond cream, and rose oil courtesy of La Fenière’s Nadia Sammut (the first gluten-free Michelin-starred chef). Sven Chartier of Oiseau Oiseau then served up Wellington with truffle, pumpkin flower and ponzu; all finished off with a praline-filled chocolate tart by Jade Genin. Taittinger Champagne flowed and wines from Château Canon and Domaine Denis Carré were paired with the food.

For the first time since before the pandemic, the night ended in the Rotonde de Abonnés, which was transformed into a nightclub. The Opera’s Beaux-Arts architecture was juxtaposed with the sound of DJs Agathe Mougin and Wladimir Schall—summoning Paris’ bright young things to the dancefloor – a sight Dupond would have approved of. “I must dance all the time, not just sometimes,” he said in an interview when he was 18. “The dance is my reason for living.”