Paris Opera Ballet's "Red Carpet" Falls Short of Groundbreaking

The Paris Opera Ballet brought their first multicity tour in the United States since 2012 to Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, performing Hofesh Shechter's "Red Carpet" as part of Cal Performances' 2025-26 series of dance performances. This production marks a bold step for the company, abandoning traditional balletic technique in favor of Shechter's raw, bold style. However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the piece relies on shock value rather than substance, failing to truly deconstruct the concept of spectacle.

Key Takeaways:

• The Paris Opera Ballet's performance of "Red Carpet" was a North American premiere, marking one of only two stops in the company's first multicity tour in the United States since 2012.
• The production featured choreographer Hofesh Shechter's bold, raw style, which abandoned traditional balletic technique in favor of a more contemporary movement quality.
• The dance company opted to portray a modern work, rather than drawing from their 300-year-old institutional history dating back to Louis XIV.
• The piece attempted to deconstruct the concept of spectacle, moving between glamorous and grotesque, but ultimately relied on shock value rather than substance to create tension.
• The choreography was characterized by loud, communal, and unapologetic moments, as well as striking stillness, often accompanied by lavish costumes and set design.
• Despite moments of brilliance, the production failed to shake the appearance of containing more shock value than substance, particularly when considered in the context of American audience expectations.
• The tension between the glamorous and the grotesque was largely found in the clash between the showy aesthetics and the harsh movements, rather than through a fully realized variety in choreography.
• The participating dancers, while stunning, revealed their ballet training in a few gawkish takes on sharp movements, making the productivity feel more like a statement than a truly groundbreaking piece of modern dance.
• The Paris Opera Ballet has performed groundbreaking contemporary ballet in the past, making "Red Carpet" feel like a step back in terms of innovation.

Statistics:

• 300-year-old institutional history of the Paris Opera Ballet
• 2012: The last time the Paris Opera Ballet performed in the United States as part of a multicity tour
• 2025-26: The current series of dance performances by Cal Performances featuring "Red Carpet"
• 2 stops in the United States: The Paris Opera Ballet's multicity tour in 2012 and 2025-26
• 300-year-old history: The time span covered by the Paris Opera Ballet's institutional history
• 4 years: The duration between the Paris Opera Ballet's last multicity tour in the United States and the current tour
• 300-year-old history: The time span covered by the Paris Opera Ballet's institutional history

Sources:

• The text does not provide explicit sources, but it is likely that the information comes from Cal Performances' press releases or the Paris Opera Ballet's official website.