Michaël Denard

Michaël Denard
Born(1944-11-05)5 November 1944
Dresden, Gau Saxony, Germany
Died17 February 2023(2023-02-17) (aged 78)
NationalityFrench
Occupation(s)Dancer
Actor

Michaël Denard (5 November 1944 – 17 February 2023) was a French dancer and stage actor.[1]

Biography

Born in Dresden on 5 November 1944 to a German mother and French father, Denard lived as a baby in his hometown during its bombardment. He began dancing in the corps de ballet of the Capitole de Toulouse in 1963 and for the Opéra national de Lorraine in 1964. In 1966, he was invited to the Jeunesses musicales de France [fr] by Pierre Lacotte, where he danced with Ghislaine Thesmar for the first time.[2] At the end of 1966, he joined the Paris Opera Ballet, where he quickly rose through the ranks. On 19 December 1969, he danced with Lynn Seymour in Swan Lake at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.[3]

Denard briefly worked in television and cinema. He was also the first guest to appear on Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier's show, Numéro un [fr].[4]

Denard retired from ballet in 1989 and began to take on dancing roles as an actor, such as Le Martyre de saint Sébastien directed by Robert Wilson.[5]

Michaël Denard died on 17 February 2023, at the age of 78.[6]

Filmography

Film

Television

Distinctions

Grave in Père Lachaise Cemetery (Paris).

References

  1. ^ "Décès de Michaël Denard, "l'oiseau de feu" de l'Opéra de Paris". France 24 (in French). Paris. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Michaël Denard". Oxford Reference.
  3. ^ "Un ballet de Béjart". Combat (in French). 28 February 1970. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Numéro Un : Michaël Denard , 05/04/1975". Télé française années 70... et autres (in French). 2013.
  5. ^ "Bob Wilson répète " le Martyre de saint Sébastien " à l'Opéra Des singes blancs dans un jardin blanc". Le Monde (in French). 6 March 1988. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Mort de l'ex-danseur étoile Michaël Denard, un " prince " de l'Opéra de Paris". Le Parisien (in French). 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.