The Paris Opera has learned with deep sadness of the passing of Patrice Bart, Étoile dancer, Ballet Master associated with the Direction of Dance, and choreographer. He devoted 54 years of his life to the Paris Opera — from his first steps at the Ballet School to his departure in 2011.

Within the Paris Opera, Patrice Bart was a key figure for several generations of dancers. Passionate, demanding, full of life and humour, he carried the Ballet and its teams forward with tireless energy.

Tonight’s performance of the ballet Giselle, for which he adapted the choreography, will be dedicated to his memory at the Palais Garnier.

Born in 1945, Patrice Bart entered the Ballet School in 1957 at the age of twelve. He joined the Corps de Ballet in 1959, rose through all the ranks, and was named Étoile in 1972 after performing the role of the Prince in Swan Lake (Bourmeister version). He danced all the great roles of the repertoire — from Petrushka to the Prince in The Sleeping Beauty, from Don Quixote to The Prodigal Son — and took part in creations by Serge Lifar (Constellations, 1969), Roland Petit (Mouvances, 1976), Kenneth MacMillan (Metaboles, 1978), and Rudolf Nureyev (as Rothbart in Swan Lake, 1984).

He was awarded the Nijinsky Prize (Université de la Danse) in 1974.

He began working as a répétiteur in 1986, then as Ballet Master in 1987, even before his farewell performance in 1989. Deeply involved in the artistic life of the company, he shared the interim Direction of Dance with Eugène Polyakov following Rudolf Nureyev’s departure in November 1989. In 1990, he was appointed “Ballet Master associated with the Direction of Dance,” a position he held until 2011.

In 1991, together with Eugène Polyakov, he restaged the classical Giselle for the 150th anniversary of its creation. The following year, he assisted Rudolf Nureyev in staging La Bayadère.

As a choreographer, he created for the Staatsoper Berlin: Don Quixote (1993; revived by the Finnish National Ballet in 1995), Swan Lake (1997), Verdiana, to music from Verdi’s operas (1999; and for the Ballet of the Teatro Comunale of Florence in 2001), The Nutcracker (1999), and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (2002); for the Paris Opera Ballet: Coppélia (1996) and La Petite Danseuse de Degas (2003); for the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich: a four-act version of La Bayadère (1997); and for the Finnish National Ballet: Tchaikovsky (2005).

Patrice Bart was Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, Commander of the National Order of Merit, and Knight of the Legion of Honour.

The Paris Opera extends its most sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.