Since 2003, in the heart of the Grande Écurie of the Palace of Versailles, the Académie Équestre de Versailles has embodied an exceptional project: bringing together French classical riding tradition and contemporary creation.
Founded by Bartabas, this unique company-school welcomes rider-artists and trains them in equestrian art, with absolute respect for oneself and for others. Transmission and excellence shape their daily life.
“I wanted to create a school; a new kind of school, a sort of company-school where a philosophy of ‘living together’ could be invented, a school where horses would teach us to work in harmony, with respect for others, a school in perpetual motion, evolving at the rhythm of a human and a horse learning from one another.
I imagined this Academy as a high-level school, capable of training rider-artists, but also as a place of personal fulfilment, a place where beautiful people are shaped. I never considered the act of transmission to be limited to passing on technique or know-how to others,”
Bartabas – Extract from *Manifeste pour la vie d’artiste*
Visitors are invited to discover a world apart, between light, discipline and poetry, offering an insight into every aspect of equestrian work. Every weekend, the Academy opens its doors for a singular experience: the discovery of its repertory performance, *La Voie de l’écuyère*, followed by a self-guided visit of the stables.
SEASON PERFORMANCE
“La Voie de l’écuyère”: every ballet corps needs a repertoire
Emblematic of the Academy, *La Voie de l’écuyère* presents High School dressage placed at the service of sensitivity and emotion. The narrative thread remains faithful to the spirit of the original creation: the scenes evolve over time, along with the expertise of the riders and horses.
Every weekend, this repertory performance choreographed by Bartabas reveals the work of the Academy. Based on the transmission of knowledge, it revisits its emblematic scenes, such as the horseback fencing routine or the ballet of Sorraia horses on long reins. Solos, pas de deux and carousels are punctuated by texts from great masters of equitation, bearing witness to the excellence of French classical dressage. All celebrate the precision and harmony of the bond between human and animal.
AN EXCEPTIONAL SETTING
An emblematic site of the Palace of Versailles, the Grande Écurie was designed in the 17th century by Jules Hardouin-Mansart at the request of Louis XIV. It once housed the king’s horses as well as the École des Pages, where young noblemen were trained in etiquette, dance, weapon handling and equestrian skills.
A major centre of equestrian art, the Grande Écurie is the birthplace of French classical riding tradition, carried forward by the master riders of the École de Versailles and structured around the principles of lightness and balance, dear to François Robichon de La Guérinière.
Today, it has reclaimed its artistic vocation. The Académie Équestre de Versailles continues this heritage while reinventing it: a living tradition, nourished by contemporary creation and dedicated to transmission.
The presence of the Academy in the Grande Écurie thus continues the history of horses in Versailles and keeps alive, in a contemporary setting, the spirit of the great equestrian schools that shaped this place.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
• Booking on acadequestre.fr or by phone on +33 (0)1 39 02 62 70
• 1-hour performance, followed by a self-guided visit of the stables
• Prices: €17 to €36
• Performance recommended from age 5; admission not permitted for children under 4
• Venue: Royal Riding Arena of the Grande Écurie of the Palace of Versailles
• Free seating in the riding arena
• Recommended arrival: 30 minutes before the start of the performance
