Report from the 25 September 2017

Opening Gala of the 2017/2018 season

Gala d’ouverture de la saison 17/18, Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris. Montée du Grand escalier-Palais Garnier.
© Didier Plowy

8 September 2017To Pierre Bergé 4 October 2017Paris Opera Ballet Young Hope Awards 2017

An exceptional Gala evening opened the Paris Opera Ballet’s new season 17/18 on Thursday, September 21st 2017, at the Palais Garnier, an initiative of Stéphane Lissner, Director of the Paris Opera, and of Aurélie Dupont, Director of Dance.

The Paris Opera Ballet season opened with a unique and henceforth regular event: an exceptional gala bringing together the Étoiles, the Premiers Danseurs and the entire Corps de Ballet, as well as the students of the Ballet School. The dazzling program includes the sumptuous Défilé du Ballet which opens up the stage to include the Foyer de la Danse, paying handsome tribute to Charles Garnier’s architectural intentions. Two new works have entered the repertoire to accompany George Balanchine’s Diamants, the choreographer’s tribute to the Russian school of dance: Hans van Manen’s Trois Gnossiennes and Faun by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, mysterious and delicate pas de deux where emotion flows out of music and movement.

Aurélie Dupont, Directrice de la Danse, et les Etoiles du Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris. » © Didier Plowy

This truly exceptional evening, presided by 4 co-chairs Donna Corbat, Karine Journo, Kinga Lampert, and Cyril Karaoglan enabled the Paris Opera to collect funds in aid of the Ballet, thanks to the support of ROLEX, Exclusive Timepiece of the Paris Opera, and through the generous commitment of the Honorary Committee.