Aurélie Dupont, 49, is resigning from her position as director of dance, which she has held since 2016 at the Paris Opera, the institution announced on Thursday in a press release.
The ex-star dancer "now wishes to devote himself to personal projects, including a book, a documentary film and a musical, and to his family", he specifies.
His departure will be effective at the end of July.
“I leave this magnificent institution today with the feeling of accomplishment, comments the person concerned on the site of the Paris Opera.
My greatest pride is to have contributed to the emergence of talents, dancers and choreographers.
Working alongside attentive directors, dancers, musicians, costume designers, managers and technicians has been an honor and an immense joy for me.
I thank my directors for the trust they have placed in me and the ever-increasing public.
I have a very special thought for all the dancers;
the talent, passion, hard work and commitment they constantly put into perfecting their art”.
“One of the most eminent figures”
"Aurélie Dupont will remain one of the most eminent figures of the Opéra national de Paris and I wish her every success in the pursuit of her career", greets its general manager, Alexander Neef.
The future former director of dance entered the institution in 1983, the year in which she pushed the doors of the Opéra's dance school, to embrace a career as a dancer in the ballet corps, then as a star dancer. , and finally as director of dance for six years, after the shattering departure of Benjamin Millepied.
In the spring of 2018, two years after the start of his mandate, a document had the effect of a bomb at the Paris Opera: an internal survey exposed the frustrations of the dancers of one of the most prestigious global companies, attacking its director in an unprecedented way.
Some denounced a lack of support, others a lack of dialogue.
Subsequently, Aurélie Dupont announced that she would set up regular meetings with the dancers.
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During her tenure, she "invested in a permanent concern to develop the institution", welcomes the press release, benefiting from a "freedom of action allowing her to deploy her programming talents which have attracted an audience numerous”: the attendance rate for ballet performances reached 98% for the 2021/2022 season.
The Paris Opera will set up a selection committee to choose the future director or the future director of dance.
