Serge Perrault (1920 – 13 March 2014) was a French

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

and teacher.

Biography

Born Serge Leplat in Paris in 1920, he was the half-brother of the dancer

Lycette Darsonval Lycette Darsonval (born Alice Andrée Marie Perron, 12 February 1912 – 1 November 1996) was a French ballet dancer. She visited Noël Corbu in Rennes-le-Château with the artist Jean Raffy Le Persan (1920-2008) during the 1950s. Biography Lyc ...

. He trained at the Paris Opera School alongside Lucette Almanzor, the second wife of writer

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ''Pri ...

. He attended the ballet corps of the opera from 1943 to 1947. During the

occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

during the Second World War, Perrault avoided the ''

Service du travail obligatoire The ' ( en, Compulsory Work Service; STO) was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II. The STO was created under law ...

'' by seeking refuge with

Gen Paul Gen Paul (July 2, 1895 – April 30, 1975) was a French painter and engraver. Biography Born as Eugène Paul in a house in Montmartre on the Rue Lepic painted by Van Gogh, he began drawing and painting as a child. His father died when he was o ...

and Céline. He performed the role of the Toreador in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' by

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ros ...

in London in 1949. He danced with stars like Michel Renaud,

, and

Yvette Chauviré Yvette Chauviré (; 22 April 1917 – 19 October 2016) was a French prima ballerina and actress. She is often described as France's greatest ballerina, and was the coach of prima ballerinas Sylvie Guillem and Marie-Claude Pietragalla. She was awa ...

. He performed as a comedian-dancer in the troupe of

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundia ...

during a production of ''Hamlet,'' which toured the United States in 1952. In 1957, Perrault played the role of Max in the film ''Folies-Bergère'' directed by

Henri Decoin Henri Decoin (18 March 1890 – 4 July 1969) was a French film director and screenwriter, who directed more than 50 films between 1933 and 1964. He was also a swimmer who won the national title in 1911 and held the national record in the 500 ...

. Perrault also worked as a dance teacher. Beginning in 1957, first at the Conservatoire de Créteil, he later moved to give dance lessons as a "professor of improvement" at the School of the Paris Opera between 1977 and 1987. In 1996, he became a professor of

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

. Perrault died on 13 March 2014 at the age of 93 in Agon, Normandy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrault, Serge 1920 births 2014 deaths French male ballet dancers Paris Opera Ballet dancers