Cover Hugo Marchand is breaking stereotypes through ballet (Photo: courtesy of Marchand)
Hugo Marchand is breaking stereotypes through ballet (Photo: courtesy of Marchand)
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Paris Opera Ballet star Hugo Marchand, who is coming to Hong Kong soon, talks about looking beyond fairy tale tropes in ‘Giselle’ and democratising ballet for all
When Hugo Marchand takes the stage as Albrecht in the classical ballet Giselle, he’s not simply performing choreography that has remained largely unchanged since 1841. He’s staging a rebellion against fairy tale conventions.
“I’ve seen so many different Albrechts. Many dancers [present] a very loving or charming Albrecht. I’m fed up with all [these versions] because they’re not real," says Marchand, an étoile (star dancer) at the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet. “Romantic tales that have been [planted] in our brains when we were kids are very hard to get rid of when you grow up. I love to bring something more obscure and [with grey areas] to show that life is not like this. [I want to present] a better version of life in ballet and not just fairy tales that damage people much more than we think.”
Hong Kong audiences will witness his darker interpretation firsthand when he performs alongside Marianela Nuñez, principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, London, in a production running May 30 to June 8 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The performance marks Marchand’s Hong Kong debut and reunites the pair who previously danced together in Paris.
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The anti-prince
Above Hugo Marchand (Photo: courtesy of Laura Gilli)
Hugo Marchand (Photo: courtesy of Laura Gilli)
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For Marchand, portraying Albrecht—a nobleman who deceives a peasant girl and is later forced to dance until exhaustion by vengeful spirits—requires navigating complex emotional terrain rather than simply executing technical moves, though this in itself is acutely physically demanding too.
“I’d like to think that Giselle isn’t only a romantic piece. Albrecht is much more complicated than being a prince,” he explains. He sees Albrecht transforming from a callous youth who “toys with Giselle and doesn’t care about his father’s feelings” into someone who genuinely falls in love and experiences profound grief when Giselle dies.
“Every ballet, including Giselle, is a voyage initiatique, meaning that the character comes from one state at the beginning and learns so many things during the whole journey that at the end he reaches a state of wisdom or psychological fulfilment.”
While he won’t alter the choreography created by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, which he considers sacred, Marchand focuses on bringing fresh “intentions” to his interpretation, making the centuries-old story resonate with contemporary audiences.
Finding catharsis through dance
Above Hugo Marchand (Photo: courtesy of Matthew Brookes)
Hugo Marchand (Photo: courtesy of Matthew Brookes)
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Creating genuine connection with his dance partner is essential to Marchand’s approach. “If you don’t have the chance to create a real relationship with the people you're dancing with, it doesn’t work. The audience is touched by the dancers when they have a real relationship. Talking is a very good way; you share what is [happening] your life, what you do, what you like and what expectations you have for this ballet. It’s about spending time together to create ‘complicity’.”
This pursuit of authenticity transforms the performance into a cathartic experience. “You feel that you are not yourself anymore because you have been working so hard on [studying and playing] your characters,” he says. Like an actor, he lives through intense emotions—"being intensely in love, witnessing the death of your lover, taking drugs, committing suicide or killing [an enemy]”—that he might never experience in real life.
Though the events onstage are fictional, “the emotions that go through his mind are real,” providing a cathartic release. “To be able to relive all these feelings is the best part for me as a dancer because you feel very free. All the things that trap you in your own life can be delivered and freed during the show.”
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From gymnastics to ballet
Above Hugo Marchand as Albrecht in ‘Giselle’ at the Opera Garnier in 2024 (Photo: Instagram/@humarchand)
Hugo Marchand as Albrecht in ‘Giselle’ at the Opera Garnier in 2024 (Photo: Instagram/@humarchand)
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The Nantes-born dancer discovered his passion early, switching from gymnastics to ballet at age nine. “I immediately fell in love with dance after the first class because I had the feeling [that dance is] a new way of expressing myself,” he recalls.
Being hired by the Paris Opera Ballet—the world’s oldest national ballet company and notoriously selective—remains “the happiest moment” of his life. Beyond the lifetime contract guaranteeing employment until retirement at 45 (a privilege shared by only about 145 dancers worldwide), Marchand takes pride in continuing France’s ballet heritage. “We just celebrated the 350th anniversary of the Paris Opera,” he says. “I’m very happy to work for an old institution that has remained alive for so long. It’s very challenging to protect [this legacy and at the same time] keep having new creations and staying modern.”
Ballet for all
Above A performance at the Château de Fabrègues in May 2025 by (Photo: Instagram/@hugomarchandpourladanse)
A performance at the Château de Fabrègues in May 2025 by (Photo: Instagram/@hugomarchandpourladanse)
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In 2022, Marchand established a non-profit organisation, Hugo Marchand Pour La Danse, to bring ballet to underserved communities. The initiative organises affordable performances in countryside locations, heritage sites, castles and abbeys—performed by Marchand and fellow principal dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet.
“The whole organisation is about creating proximity between the artists and the audience, and being available for people if they want to socialise or take pictures [with us]. It’s to show that ballet dancers are normal, kind people, not divas,” he says.
His audiences have included hospital patients, healthcare workers, isolated elderly individuals and youth—many experiencing ballet for the first time. Their reactions differ markedly from typical opera house patrons: “instead of ‘marvellous’, they say ‘thank you’.”
Update: Hugo Marchand will no longer be performing in the Hong Kong Ballet’s ‘Giselle’ due to injuries. The Royal Ballet’s principal dancer Matthew Ball will dance the part of Albrecht.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
