Named in April to this grade, the 28 -year -old dancer decided to resume his “whole professional freedom”.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
“That’s it, I take my flight!” François Alu, a star dancer at the Paris Opera, created the surprise, Wednesday, November 23, by announcing his departure from the institution to which he belonged for twelve years.
In a joint press release with the Paris Opera, the dancer, who is also sworn in the television program “Dance with the stars”, said he decided to resume his “whole professional freedom in order to be able to fully achieve [s ] Es artistic aspirations “. He “will soon leave the ballet” of the opera, said the director general of the institution, Alexander Neef, specifying that it was “the outcome [of a narrow dialogue”.
Little present since his appointment as a star in April, the 28 -year -old dancer had been the subject of many rumors linked to his absence on stage in the start of the school year. He recently missed the opportunity to dance in the Mayerling ballet, which gives pride of place to the main dancer. In the press release, the Opera specifies that it was removed from the distribution of Lac des Cygnes in December.
of “future collaborations” envisaged
This is the first time that a star has left the prestigious company without having danced the slightest role after accessing the supreme title. The number of male stars at the Opera, which already accuses an imbalance between male and female stars, is reduced to five, for a company of 154 dancers.
The two parties have not excluded any “future collaborations”, Mr. Neef specifying that it will be up to the new Dance Director, José Martinez, who will take office on December 5, to chat with the dancer .
virtuoso, darling of the public of the opera ballet which nicknamed him “aluminum”, François Alu had joined the company in 2010 and, in four years, experienced a meteoric ascent, climbing the rank of first dancer, Preceding the title of Star.
The last time a star had left the company brilliantly dates back to 1989, when the legendary Sylvie Guillem had slammed the door to devote herself to an international career.