Paris Ballet's The Nutcracker
ON SALE SALE -- NOW -- at the Eissey Campus Theatre Box Office ...More Information
Founder and Director Mr. Jean-Hugues Feray (Photo: Steven Caras),a native of France, began his dance training at nine years of age. The following year, he auditioned for the Paris Opera Ballet School at the Paris Opera Ballet where he was one of six boys chosen out of the 250 that applied for admission. Jean-Hugues studied with the school for 5 years and went on to attend the National Conservatory of Paris. He graduated from the conservatory with a first prize in Ballet awarded by a unanimous jury decision. This was the highest Ballet Award a student could receive, enabling Jean-Hugues to choose from several contract offers in European Companies.
In 1990, Jean-Hugues was hired by Rudolph Nureyev to perform in his version of Cinderella, which premiered at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples, Italy. In 1991, Pierre Lacotte hired him for the National Ballet of Nancy, where he performed for seven years
THE DIRECTOR
Mr. Feray taught five years at the Academy of Ballet Florida. He is also honored to have been a teacher at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, FL.
Now, with his own School and Conservatory, he delights in passing on what he has learned over the years in the dance world. He looks forward to participating in the dance education of the next generations and gains great rewards from teaching with his passion and innate love of dance.
Continuing that passion and love, in 2016, Mr. Feray began collaborations with the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Paris Ballet and Dance was the only dance school in the area to be invited to perform a classical work in the Kravis Center's 25th Anniversary Community Gala in October 2016. Most importantly, the collaboration also included Mr. Feray has been hand-picked by Charles Jude to teach at "Stage International de Danse d'Arcachon" (South Eastern Coast of France near Bordeaux) in 2018. He also brought the most internationally renowned French Master Teachers for one week, first time in the United States -- Magnifique Ballet Intensive in 2017. Magnifique Ballet Winter Intensive continued in 2018 and has now become a major ballet winter intensive in the country!
MAGNIFIQUE INTERNATIONAL BALLET WINTER INTENSIVE
January 2 - 6, 2025 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts ...More Information
Please, enjoy the slideshow of a "few" photographs of Founder and
Director Jean-Hugues Feray on stage as a professional dancer!
Photos copyright. Janine Harris - all rights reserved.
Also, please enjoy rare footage of Mr. Feray in La Somnambule Variation performing at the Bolshoi Theatre while on a international tour with the National Ballet de Nancy in 1998.
Follow Mr. Feray on his official Instragram page: @jeanhuguesferay_official_
in many leading roles. Jean-Hugues was promoted to soloist at the age of twenty. With the National Ballet of Nancy, he toured all over the world including Moscow, Russia where the company was invited by Vladimir Vasiliev to perform at the Bolshoi Theatre. Jean-Hugues received a standing ovation for his performance of the Harlequin in Georges Balanchine’s La Somnambule.
In 1998, Jean-Hugues was hired by Marie-Claude Pietragalla at the National Ballet of Marseille. Miss Pietragalla was a principal with the Paris Opera Ballet and the new Artistic Director in Marseille. While in Marseille, Jean-Hugues performed numerous roles including the leads in Giselle, Raymonda, George Balanchine’s Tzigane, and was also chosen by Maurice Bejart to be in his version of Le Bolero de Ravel.
In 2000, Jean-Hugues moved to the United States when Marie Hale invited him to join Ballet Florida. Before coming to the United States, Mr. Feray applied for and acquired his Employment Based Green Card: EB-1 Priority Worker: Extraordinary Ability Status. To get this status to enter the country one must have “...extraordinary ability in science, arts, education, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation.” One must be “at that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor to qualify for this classification.”
At Ballet Florida, he enjoyed working with the company and performing exciting roles including the lead in Marie Hale’s The Nutcracker, Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, Ben Stevenson’s Dracula, Vicente Nebrada’s Cinderella and Norbert Vesak’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
He also worked with, and danced roles by world renowned choreographers such as George Balanchine, Sean Lavery, Lar Lubovitch, Thierry Malandain, Peter Martins, Trey McIntyre, Jerome Robbins, and Mauricio Wainrot, to name only a few!