Dominique Dupuy (dancer)

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For other people with the same name, see Dominique Dupuy (disambiguation).

Dominique Dupuy
Born31 October 1930 (1930-10-31)
Paris, France
Died1 May 2024 (2024-06) (aged 93)
Occupation(s)Dancer, choreographer, author
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1951; died 2022)​
RelativesMarcel Michaud (father-in-law)

Dominique Dupuy (31 October 1930 – 1 May 2024) was a French dancer and choreographer of modern dance. He is best known as a pioneer of modern dance in France. Additionally, he ran a choreographic centre as well as an annual dance festival in Provence.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Dominique Dupuy was born on 31 October 1930 in Paris.[1][2] He was first trained as an eight-year-old by choreographer Jean Weidt and later by Doryta Brown.[2] He was then trained by the American choreographer Jerome Andrews.[3][4] During the Second World War, he left Paris for rural France, and he learned how to act.[2] Shortly after the war, he resumed lessons with Weidt, and took lessons in classical dance with Olga Preobrajenska, Nicolas Zverev, and Merce Cunningham.[1][2][5] Additionally, he took more acting lessons with Charles Dullin and Marcel Marceau.[2]

Career[edit]

He started his career as a dancer for his former teacher, Jean Weidt, where he met his future wife.[2] Shortly afterwards, as Weidt returned to Germany, he established a dance company with his wife called Les Ballets Modernes de Paris.[1][2][6] Together, they have choreographed many dance performances.[2] Their dances have been inspired by Vaslav Nijinsky, Deryk Mendel, Michel Fokine and Régine Chopinot.[5] One of their main dancers has been José Montalvo.[7]

Later, they also established the Mas de la danse, a choreographic center in Fontvieille, Bouches-du-Rhône, in the South of France.[5] On top of dance performances, they also organized conferences on dance open to the public. Additionally, they established the annual Les Baux-de-Provence Dance Festival in Les Baux-de-Provence.[5]

He has also taught dance and practised as a choreographer on his own. For example, he served as the Director of the Dance Department at the Institute of Musical and Choreographic Pedagogy from 1991 to 1995.[1] More recently, in 2012–2013, he choreographed Act Without Words I and Act Without Words II, two short plays by Samuel Beckett.[8] The first one was performed at the Théâtre national de Chaillot in Paris.[8]

He has been called a pioneer of modern dance in France.[5]

Personal life[edit]

He was married to Françoise Dupuy, the daughter of art critic Marcel Michaud (1898–1958), and also a dancer, since 1951.[1][2][5] They met during a dance class taught by Jean Weidt.[5] Françoise died in September 2022.[9] Dupuy died on 1 May 2024, at the age of 93.[10]

Dances[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Dominique Dupuy, Frédéric Pouillaude, Daniel Dobbels, Claude Rabant. Danse et politique. Démarche artistique et contexte historique (Centre national de la danse, 2003).
  • Dominique Dupuy. Quant à la danse (2004).
  • Dominique Dupuy. La Sagesse du danseur (Jean-Claude Béhar, 2005).
  • Dominique Dupuy. Danse contemporaine: pratique et théorie Marsyas, écrits pour la danse. (Images en manœuvres, 2008).

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Debra Craine, Judith Mackrell, The Oxford Dictionary of Dance, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 145 [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Jacqueline Robinson, Modern Dance in France (1920-1970): An Adventure, Routledge, 2013, pp. 200-232 [2]
  3. ^ Jerome Andrews; American Pioneer of Modern Dance, Los Angeles Times, 27 October 1992
  4. ^ Jerome Andrews, Variety, 11 November 1992
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Dominique et Françoise Dupuy, Arte, 25 March 2006
  6. ^ Andree Grau (ed.), Stephanie Jordan (ed.), Europe Dancing: Perspectives on Theatre, Dance, and Cultural Identity, Routledge, 2002, p. 29 [3]
  7. ^ "DLB: José Montalvo". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  8. ^ a b Samuel Beckett / Dominique Dupuy: Acte sans paroles I Archived 7 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Théâtre national de Chaillot
  9. ^ Boisseau, Rosita (16 September 2022). "La mort de la danseuse Françoise Dupuy". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  10. ^ La mort du danseur et chorégraphe Dominique Dupuy (in French)
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