At the Paris National Ballet Opening Gala, a Dazzling Celebration of Dance Old and New
On Saturday night at the Palais Garnier, the 11th edition of the 2025/26 opening season ballet gala proved once again why this event is such a highlight of Paris’s autumn cultural calendar. Under the watchful eyes of Alexander Neef, general director, and José Martinez, director of dance, the Paris Opera Ballet welcomed a new season in style. Taking place as Paris hums with anticipation for fashion week set to begin this week, the gala was a celebration of artistry and high fashion, with Chanel and Rolex among the event’s supporters.
As guests in sweeping gowns and sharp tuxedos ascended the iconic steps of the Palais Garnier for photos, the evening’s glamour came into full view before everyone took their seats. After a few opening words from the evening’s hosts, the gala commenced with the traditional Défilé de Ballet, a ritual in which the entire company takes the stage in solemn procession: Étoiles in Chanel tutus and tiaras; premiers danseurs and the corps de ballet; students of the École de Danse; and the Junior Ballet, inaugurated last year, also dressed by Chanel in hand-embellished tutus adorned with ostrich feathers and corsets finished with white satin camellias. The Défilé de Ballet is a living portrait of the company’s past, present, and future—a moment when every rank of the institution is presented side by side, embodying both continuity and renewal. Against the opulent backdrop of the Garnier, the spectacle of over 300 dancers moving together on stage offered a breathtaking reminder of the scale and heritage of the Paris Opera Ballet.
The first performance of the evening marked the Paris Opera debut of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Requiem for a Rose, danced by members of the Junior Ballet—the first time the Junior Ballet has taken to the stage of the Palais Garnier to perform a full piece from their repertoire. Lopez Ochoa is recognized as one of the most innovative voices in dance today, celebrated for her ability to fuse classical technique with contemporary expression and striking visual metaphors. Set to music by Franz Schubert, Requiem for a Rose is a poetic meditation on love, using the rose as a metaphor for both passion and fragility. “When I created Requiem for a Rose, I wanted choreography that whirls,” explained the choreographer. “Like a bouquet of red roses that decomposes and recomposes, like a flower that blooms and then fades.”
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At the start of the performance, we’re introduced to a dancer in a flesh-colored leotard with a rose in her mouth—a figure Lopez Ochoa envisions as Venus, symbolizing the intensity and purity of love, the beating heart of the piece. She is then joined by 12 dancers in swirling red skirts, suggesting rose petals swept up by the wind, their movements fluid yet precise, evoking both the fullness and the fleeting nature of romance. “I believe the lifespan of a romance is comparable to that of a bouquet of roses, its brilliance is intoxicating, but its beauty is fleeting,” the choreographer added. Lopez Ochoa, who is Belgian-Colombian, tells this story through a choreographic style that blends classical ballet with modern and abstract movement in the upper body, in a way that nods to the fluidity of Latin dance.
The performances concluded with one of the crown jewels of classical ballet, Giselle, by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. This ballet, which has held audiences spellbound since its 1841 premiere, tells the story of a peasant girl betrayed by her lover, who then descends into madness and death before reappearing as a spirit, forgiving him and thus setting him free. There’s a folksy quality to the first act, with simple footwork, lively group patterns, and communal scenes executed with technical precision, effectively conveying how Giselle’s innocent joy gives way to heartbreak.
