We are delighted to announce the first in a series of partnerships for 2025-07

Date: March 8th, 2025

The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation is delighted to announce the first in a series of partnerships for 2025-07 that will deliver to its core purpose of supporting talent, advancing the health, wellbeing and safeguarding of dancers and promoting and celebrating Nureyev’s contribution to dance.

True to its mission of supporting the next generation of talent as well as preserving and passing on the artistic legacy of Rudolf Nureyev, the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation is pleased to support the Junior Ballet of the Opéra national de Paris.

Created in September 2024, this Junior Ballet brings together 18 young dancers aged 17 to 23.

‘Conceived as a breeding ground for young talent, the Junior Ballet of the Opéra national de Paris responds to several challenges: diversifying the profiles of dancers, promoting their professional integration, and strengthening openness to the public through tours and mediation activities, while perpetuating the three-hundred-year-old know-how of the Opéra de Paris.’ José Martinez, Director of Dance at the Opéra national de Paris

The Junior Ballet is open to young dancers from all backgrounds and to students of the Paris Opera Ballet School who wish to complete their initial training. Following the external ballet competition on 2 and 3 July 2024, nine young female dancers and nine young male dancers were recruited to join the Junior Ballet from the 2024/2025 season with a two-year professional contract; the group will be supplemented by six new dancers from September 2025.

Throughout their training, they will deepen their mastery of the classical and contemporary repertoire of the Opéra national de Paris and gain stage experience in the context of resident performances and tours. Under the direction of José Martinez, Director of Dance at the Opéra national de Paris, the Junior Ballet is supervised by a dedicated artistic, pedagogical and administrative team.

The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation’s support for this initiative will enable the transmission of Rudolf Nureyev’s artistic legacy, which is fully integrated into the Junior Ballet programme, to these dancers. This season, the young artists will have the opportunity to deepen their study of the ballet Raymonda during dedicated workshops, and to perform as part of the Opera’s Corps de Ballet in Sleeping Beauty, in performance at the Opéra Bastille from 8 March 2025.

The Chair of the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, Baroness Bull, said ‘The Foundation is delighted to deepen its partnership with the Opéra national de Paris by supporting its Junior Ballet. Throughout his time at the Opéra, Rudolf Nureyev dedicated himself to promoting young talent and inspiring the next generation to achieve their full potential through a deep understanding of the company’s remarkable heritage. The Junior Ballet, under the expert guidance of José Martinez, is a perfect match with the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to nurture the next generation of talent and to preserve and perpetuate the legacy of Rudolf Nureyev.’

Over the coming weeks, the Foundation will be announcing further partnerships with dance organisations and networks across the world. These will include our Schools’ Partnership Programme, bringing together Australian National Ballet School, the Ballet School of the Opéra national de Paris, Canada’s National Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School, Royal Danish Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School to work together on the development young talent while also raising awareness of Nureyev’s distinctive role and legacy in both local and international dance history.