Contrastes : Three visions of dance at the Palais Garnier

The Opéra national de Paris presents Contrastes, an evening of ballets by Trisha Brown, David Dawson and the van Opstals. On view at the Palais Garnier from December 1 to 31, 2025.

The Opéra national de Paris takes over the Palais Garnier in December 2025 with Contrastes, a three-part evening of major contemporary dance signatures. The program includes works by American pioneer Trisha Brown, British choreographer David Dawson and Dutch duo Imre and Marne van Opstal. Lasting 2h25 with two intermissions, the program crosses writing styles, aesthetics and sensibilities in a dialogue between postmodern heritage and today's creation. Tickets will open on June 17, 2025 at 12 noon.

The evening opens with two pieces by Trisha Brown, an emblematic figure of post-modern dance. O złożony / O composite, created in 2004 for the Paris Opera Ballet, demonstrates how the American choreographer was able to inject her experimental research into classical language, exploring gravity, balance and the disarticulation of gesture. To this is added If you couldn't see me, a solo created in 1994 and presented for the first time at the Opéra, danced with the audience's back turned. This radical choice introduces a reflection on stage presence, the spectator's gaze and the dissociation between performance and exhibition.

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The second part of the evening marks the repertory debut ofAnima Animus by David Dawson, a British choreographer renowned for his work combining neoclassical virtuosity and emotional depth. In this ballet, Dawson explores the polarities between masculine and feminine, strength and vulnerability, using fluid, rapid, chiselled movement to create a lyrical, highly embodied work.

Finally, Drift Wood, created by Dutch choreographers Imre and Marne van Opstal, closes the evening with a hybrid language combining raw physicality, contemporary expressiveness and symbolic composition. Inspired by the metaphor of driftwood, the piece addresses themes of resilience, the passage of time and the relationship with living things. This is the brother-and-sister duo's first work for the Paris Opera, marking an opening for new choreographic writing in an institutional setting.

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The show is aimed at lovers of contemporary and neoclassical dance, curious about stylistic confrontations and sensitive to the diversity of choreographic approaches. Audiences familiar with the Ballet de l'Opéra's repertoire, as well as those seeking more daring artistic experiences, will find a meeting point here. Conversely, this program may be less suited to audiences exclusively attached to narrative or traditional ballets in costume.

With Contrastes, on at the Palais Garnier from December 1 to 31, 2025, theOpéra national de Paris presents a multi-faceted evening of work by Trisha Brown, David Dawson and the van Opstal duo. An exploration of choreographic forms that crosses registers and eras, between abstraction, power and contemporary poetry.

This article is based on information available to date and is not based on a viewing of the show.

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