The French ballet dancer and long-time ballet director of the Paris Opera Patrick Dupond has passed away.
He was 61 years old and people around him named the cause of death a disease. Patrick Dupond was born on March 14, 1959. He started dancing at an early age and in 1967 happened to meet former dancers from the Paris Opera. From then on he was supported by Max Bozzoni and danced in 1969 for the first time at the big house. During further private lessons with Bozzoni he was trained at the Paris Opera House. In 1975 he became a permanent member of the ensemble. He gained greater fame the following year when he won the gold medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria. In 1980 he became a solo dancer in Paris and also performed internationally. In 1988 he also began to work as artistic director at the Ballet de Lorraine, and in 1990 he was also appointed director in Paris. Dupond carried out this activity until 1995. He later worked primarily as a dance teacher and as a member of juries at competitions, including television shows.
In 2017, he and collaborator Leïla Da Rocha founded a new company and school, White Eagle Dance, in Bordeaux. For his work he was awarded the ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1988, the ordre national du Mérite in 1990 and the Legion of Honor in 1997. Patrick Dupond died on March 5, 2021.
