Jean Babilée

Jean Babilée

Jean Babilée (real name Jean Gutman(n); 3 February 1923 – 30 January 2014) was a prominent French dancer and choreographer of the latter half of the 20th century. He is considered to have been one of modern ballet's greatest performers, and the first French dancer to gain international acclaim. Babilée has been called the "enfant terrible of dance." Born in Paris in 1923, the son of a doctor, Babilée studied at the Paris Opéra Ballet School from 1936 to 1940. His dance career was interrupted during World War II because he was Jewish on his father's side. He left Paris in 1940 when the Wehrmacht was approaching the city, but returned to dance with the Paris Opera Ballet in early 1942. He narrowly escaped being sent to Auschwitz during the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup in Paris on 16 July 1942. In early 1943 he left the city to avoid compulsory deportation to Germany as a forced laborer. He spent the rest of the war with the French Resistance, fighting with the Maquis in Touraine. After the war, Babilée returned to dance, joining the Soirées de la Danse, which later became Les Ballet des Champs Elysées. His birth name was Jean Gutmann, but he adopted his mother's maiden name for professional use. Babilée enjoyed some of his greatest successes as a member of Les Ballets des Champs-Elysées and Les Ballets de Paris. From 1945 to 1950 he was principal dancer of the Ballets des Champs-Élysées, for which he created roles in ballets including Jeu de cartes, Jean Cocteau's Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, L'Amour et son amour, and Till Eulenspiegel. In several of these ballets he performed opposite his wife, featured ballerina Nathalie Philippart. In the 1940s Babilée quickly developed a reputation for his physical prowess. It was said that he could leap better than any dancer since Nijinsky, and in the 1946 premiere of Le Jeune Homme et la Mort he hung by his neck on a gallows for one minute, supported only by wrapping one arm around a pillar. In the 1950s he danced as a guest of Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris and the American Ballet Theatre, before forming his own company, Les Ballets Jean Babilée. In 1972 and 1973 he served as director of the Ballet du Rhin in Strasbourg. In the early 1980s, Maurice Béjart created the solo Life for him. In 1984, at the age of 61, he performed Le Jeune Homme et la Mort with the Ballet de Marseille. He also appeared as a stage actor and in several films. The 2000 documentary film Le Mystère Babilée, directed by Patrick Bensard, reconstructs Babilée's career through interviews with the dancer, excerpts from his choreographic work, and recollections by observers and collaborators including Béjart, Christian Lacroix, Jean-Paul Goude and Yvette Chauviré. Source: Article "Jean Babilée" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

  • Popularity : 2.873
  • Known For : Acting
  • Birthday : 1923-02-03
  • Place of Birth : Paris, France
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Jean Babilée Movies

  • 1960
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    The Wolves in the Sheepfold

    The Wolves in the Sheepfold

    5 1960 HD

    Three gangsters on the run break into a rehabilitation center for delinquent teenagers run by the couple Roger and Irène. The residents are...

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  • 1963
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    Sweet and Sour

    Sweet and Sour

    4.6 1963 HD

    Gerard, a young man from a "good family" dreams of becoming an actor. To do this, he follows everywhere his sister Frédérique who is...

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  • 1961
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    Spotlight on a Murderer

    Spotlight on a Murderer

    6.5 1961 HD

    An old count hides just before he dies to annoy his heirs. The heirs search a manor for the count's body and are killed off one by one. Jean-Marie,...

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  • 1973
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    The Shadow Line

    The Shadow Line

    6 1973 HD

    Story of a young, inexperienced ship captain named Marlow, who struggles in solitude during the voyage with disease, insubordinate crew and vagaries...

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  • 1976
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    Duelle

    Duelle

    6.7 1976 HD

    Two enigmatic women, Leni and Viva, arrive in Paris separately, each with a hidden but shared motive. As they navigate the city and their search...

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  • 1997
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    Jean Cocteau: Lies and Truths

    Jean Cocteau: Lies and Truths

    1 1997 HD

    This documentary consists mainly of archive interviews of Jean Cocteau, and it features interesting contributions by Jean Marais and especially...

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  • 1990
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    Jacques Rivette, the Watchman

    Jacques Rivette, the Watchman

    6 1990 HD

    This film of interviews with the film director Jacques Rivette was produced in collaboration with Serge Daney, film critic from “Cahiers du...

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  • 1963
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    Sweet and Sour

    Sweet and Sour

    4.6 1963 HD

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  • 1948
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    The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

    6.5 1948 HD

    The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by...

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  • 1972
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    Le Grand Échiquier

    Le Grand Échiquier

    8 1972 HD

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