Jean Pierre Bonnefoux

1943 - 2025

Jean Pierre Bonnefoux, luminary of the ballet world, native of France, citizen of the world and long-time Charlotte resident who led Charlotte Ballet and Charlotte Ballet Academy as artistic director for 20 years, died of heart failure on April 13, 2025. He was 82.

A dancer, director, teacher and coach, choreographer, innovator and visionary, Bonnefoux and his wife, the ballerina Patricia McBride, along with their two children, moved to Charlotte in 1996 to lead Charlotte Ballet. He served as artistic director, and she as associate artistic director. They brought their international reputations along with them, helping elevate Charlotte's standing on the national and world stages.

In the 20 years Bonnefoux led Charlotte Ballet, he grew it into the region's preeminent dance organization.

Bonnefoux and McBride met in 1968 at a New York gala when Bonnefoux, then living in Paris, was a guest star. They fell in love and began a transcontinental romance before Bonnefoux joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer in 1970. The couple married in France in 1973, becoming partners in life, as well as on stage. They eventually made Charlotte their home, where they lived for more than two decades while raising their children, Christopher and Melanie. They remained married for more than 45 years, eventually separating, but remaining in each other's lives as collaborators and best friends.

Early life and education: Bonnefoux and his twin sister, actress Dominique Arden, were born in the ancient city of Bourg en Bresse in eastern France on April 9, 1943 to Marie Therese Bouhy Bonnefoux and Laurent Bonnefoux. Several years after World War II ended, the family moved to Paris, and the young Jean Pierre began his dance training.

He joined the world-famous Paris Opera Ballet at 14 and was promoted to an "Etoile" at 21. While there, he danced under the direction of Serge Lifar.

Ballet became Bonnefoux's great passion, but as an adolescent and young man, he may have loved ballet and acting equally. As a child actor, he appeared in both television and movies, including "Wild Fruits" (1954), "Les carottes sont cuites" (1956) and "White Shoes" (1966).

While in the company of the Paris Opera, Bonnefoux danced all the full-length classics, including "Swan Lake," "Giselle" and "Sleeping Beauty" and worked with renowned choreographers such as Maurice Béjart and Roland Petit. He also guest appeared on some of the world's most prominent stages, including the Bolshoi and Kirov.

He loved living in Paris, where he garnered a fan club and became close friends with, among others, Rudolf Nureyev. Bonnefoux ultimately helped him defect from Soviet Russia.

A pivotal moment in his life came when the legendary genius George Balanchine, co-founder and long-time artistic director of the New York City Ballet, was rehearsing "Apollo" in Berlin. When the male lead was injured, John Taras, ballet master for New York City Ballet, called Bonnefoux, under Balanchine's direction, to invite him to Berlin to dance the role of Apollo.

McBride recalled, "Jean Pierre told me those were the most extraordinary five days he ever had, being coached by Mr. Balanchine. The experience was a revelation to him."

Move to the U.S. /New York City Ballet: "Although he was a star at the Paris Opera Ballet, the opportunity to work under the direction of George Balanchine was one he couldn't resist," McBride said. Bonnefoux, then 26, moved to New York City in 1970 to join the company as a principal dancer under Balanchine, who presented a vast array of ballets for Bonnefoux to perform, some of which he choreographed specifically for him, Stravinsky's "Violin Concerto;" "Sonatine," "Union Jack" (in the role of Pearly King), "Scriabin pas de deux," "Vienna Waltzes," "Cortège Hongrois" and "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme." He also performed Balanchine's "Who Cares?," "Agon," "The Four Temperaments," "Tchaikovsky Pas de deux," "Theme and Variations," "Bugaku," "Liebeslieder Waltzer," "Swan Lake," "Firebird" and many others. "Mr. Balanchine and Jean Pierre used to love speaking French together," McBride recalled of Bonnefoux's time in New York.

He also taught from 1977 until 1984 at Balanchine's School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of the New York City Ballet. One day Jean Pierre approached Mr. Balanchine with an idea. SAB offered an immense amount of classes, but none for the young boys, similar to the training Jean Pierre had received at the Paris Opera School. With Balanchine's support, Bonnefoux began teaching classes for boys.

Bonnefoux also worked with Jerome Robbins in the New York City Ballet, dancing roles in "Dances at a Gathering," "In the Night" and "The Concert." Robbins' "Four Bagatelles" was choreographed for Bonnefoux and fellow French ballerina Violette Verdy.

Bonnefoux retired as a professional dancer in 1980 but remained involved with dance for the rest of his life, with teaching and choreography as his great passion. His work showcased an abundant range and spanned geographic boundaries, too. Before coming to Charlotte, he served as choreographer and ballet master for the Pittsburgh Ballet and then as chairman and artistic director of the ballet department in the School of Music at Indiana University for 11 years.

In 1982, he choreographed "The Rite of Spring" for The Metropolitan Opera and "Othello" for Louisville Ballet. He worked with Mary Sharp Cronson on her "Works and Process" at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 1985, which brought the performing arts to the museum. He also choreographed for John Curry's "The Snow Queen" on ice, which was televised.

Mid- and later career/Charlotte Ballet: Bonnefoux was invited to join Charlotte Ballet, then North Carolina Dance Theatre, as the company's third artistic director, following Robert Lindgren and Salvatore Aiello. Drawn to the opportunity to develop his ballet program alongside the growing city, his choreographic repertoire for Charlotte Ballet includes "Carmina Burana," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," "Romeo & Juliet," "Shindig" and the ballet he may be best remembered for, the holiday classic, "Nutcracker," a beloved Charlotte tradition and among his most enduring legacies.

He also brought a roster of the most brilliant choreographers of our time to Charlotte Ballet for the dancers and audiences. Along with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, there were Alvin Ailey, Dwight Rhoden, Alonzo King, Paul Taylor, Mark Godden, Twyla Tharp, Jirí Kylián, Mark Diamond (who became director of Charlotte Ballet II) and many others.

Nurturing talent brought Bonnefoux tremendous joy. He was especially proud of Sasha Janes, who was already a member of the company when he asked Janes to choreograph his first of many ballets for Charlotte Ballet, "Lascia la Spina, Cogli la Rosa." Bonnefoux was always proud to see "his" dancers, whether at the Belk or Knight theaters or on the road across North Carolina or at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, where he founded a prestigious 7-week summer dance program for students in 1983 and brought Charlotte Ballet as resident company performing through the summers. He served as its director for almost 40 years, including during his leadership of Charlotte Ballet.

In the latter part of his career, Bonnefoux was tireless and driven, but warm and nurturing as a teacher or choreographer. He challenged his dancers to take on roles that may have seemed difficult. He often saw talent in them they didn't yet see in themselves. He was always positive. He gave them confidence, like a father figure to them. In addition to the artists of Charlotte Ballet in preparation for "Nutcracker," Bonnefoux coached the young dancers of the Northeast School of Ballet under the direction of Denise Cecere.

Bonnefoux loved his Charlotte Ballet family, including the dancers, students, staff, Board, audiences and the choreographers he brought to Charlotte, and took great pride in their accomplishments.

The 2016-17 season was Bonnefoux's final as Charlotte Ballet's artistic director. But he remained as a mentor, coach and endless source of inspiration. In 2010, Charlotte Ballet's home on North Tryon Street, the Patricia McBride and Jean Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance, was built and named to honor them.

Personal: He took dance seriously, McBride recounted, but he wasn't always serious. He had a delightful sense of humor, a love of life and a deep curiosity about people and the world around him. He was quick to praise students, but humble about his own talent. He was a visionary devoid of ego and a deep thinker who also loved to have a good time.

Bonnefoux had a passion for art in all its forms, delighting in music, visual art and literature and seeking out concert halls, libraries, museums and galleries in Charlotte and during his extensive travels. He could spend hours in museums, McBride recalled. "He delighted in music and loved all the great classical composers of the past, but also loved discovering the new generation of composers."

Bonnefoux was preceded in death by his parents and his twin sister. In addition to Bonnefoux's muse and partner, Patricia McBride, he is survived by their beloved children, Christopher Bonnefoux and Melanie Bonnefoux DeCoudres (Hunter DeCoudres), two granddaughters, Isabeau and Bayleigh, and one grandson, Hunter II, all in Charlotte; and his extended Bouhy family in France: Alain, Frederick, Patrick and their families.

He led an extraordinary life and was loved by many. A celebration of Bonnefoux will be held on Monday, May 12 at 3 p.m. at the Patricia McBride & Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance in Uptown Charlotte.