Villa Hegra strengthens its artistic partnership with the Paris Opera by inviting its brand new Junior Ballet to perform a choreographic work by Noé Soulier, director of the Centre national de Danse contemporaine d'Angers.

For their first performance, the 18 dancers of the Ballet Junior de l'Opéra national de Paris will perform in the heart of the exceptional landscape of AlUla, located in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. The initiative is part of Villa Hegra's cultural program and reflects the institution's commitment to promoting intercultural dialogue between France and Saudi Arabia.

A new stage in the collaboration between Villa Hegra and the Opéra national de Paris

Following the success of the first Opéra national de Paris concert in Saudi Arabia, held at the Maraya Theater on January 17, 2024, Villa Hegra and the Opéra national de Paris announce the continuation of their collaboration. Fériel Fodil, General Director of Villa Hegra, comments: "We are delighted to consolidate our partnership with the Opéra national de Paris, this time by highlighting creation through dance and choreographic work, an important component of the Villa's future programming.

Transmission and contemporary creation at the heart of this Franco-Saudi project

Created in September 2024, the Junior Ballet is an incubator for young talent, driven by challenges that resonate deeply with Villa Hegra's philosophy: diversifying artists' profiles, supporting their professional integration, and broadening Villa Hegra's accessibility to a wide audience. This partnership is also in line with the ambition of the Paris Opera and Villa Hegra to offer innovative forms of creation, training and transmission.

"Crossings", an in situ dialog between body and landscape

On December 13 and 14, 2024, the Ballet Junior de l'Opéra de Paris, composed of 18 young dancers aged between 18 and 22, will perform for the first time in the heart of AlUla, in the canyons of this exceptional region. Noé Soulier's 45-minute creation, Crossings, has been specially designed to integrate harmoniously with the environment, with the dancers moving directly on the sand without sound accompaniment.

As the curators of Villa Hegra's first prefiguration cycle, Wejdan Reda and Arnaud Morand, explain: "In the majestic and demanding desert of AlUla, Noé Soulier imbues this new work with a unique sense of scale: the dancers sometimes appear tiny against the immensity of the canyons and rock formations. Their bodies harmonize with the scenery until they become an extension of the landscape itself.

Indeed, "Crossings" is a nomadic work that explores the relationship between the movement of bodies and the spaces they inhabit. It is inspired by the specificity of the site, marked by AlUla's millennial history as a crossroads of civilizations.