"La Sylphide" (chor. Pierre Lacotte), June 18, 21, 23, 26, 29, 30 at 7:30pm.

The Palais Garnier season closes with the ultimate tearjerker romantic ballet initially choreographed by Pierre Taglioni in 1868, full of tutu-clad flying ballerinas, supernatural creatures and ill-fated love between mortal men and their dream girls. Opéra National de Paris-Palais Garnier, Paris Opera Ballet Company, pl de l'Opéra, 9e, METRO: Opéra, tel: 08.36.69.78.68.

"Le Lac des Cygnes" (chor. Rudolf Nureyev), June 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 24, 29 at 7:30pm; June 27 at 3pm.

Thanks to Tchaikovsky's magical music, "Swan Lake" has been the most popular ballet the world over since the 19th century with its ethereal heroine Odette/Odile, a woman-swan who invades the dreams of Prince Siegfried, who falls hopelessly in love with her.

Opéra National de Paris-Bastille, Paris Opera Ballet Company, pl de la Bastille, 12e, METRO: Bastille, tel: 08.36.69.78.68.

Georges Appaix / La Liseuse "L est là," June 3-5 at 8:30pm.

A new production by Georges Appaix, whose miniaturist contemporary dance style and syncopated movement vocabulary have set him apart, along with the fact he's one of the rare choreographers who always performs in his own shows.

Claude Brumachon / Centre Chorégraphique National de Nantes, "Humains, dites-vous!," June 8-12 at 8:30pm.

In his new modern dance production  a cry out against intolerance  Claude Brumachon takes us on an imaginary journey back to the 16th century with its religious wars, barbarianism and inquisitions on one hand, and its renaissance in art on the other. All that and a cameo appearance by Catherine de Medicis besides!

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker / Rosas, "I Said I," June 15-19 at 8:30pm.

The very popular Belgian dancemaker De Keersmaeker brings her annual creation "I Said I" to the Théâtre de la Ville, co-producers of her highly intricate (almost mathematical) works in which live music and philosophical meanderings are among the main ingredients.

DV8 Physical Theatre / Lloyd Newson, "The Happiest Day of My Life," June 22-26 at 8:30pm.

The name of this anticonformist dance company  DV8 (deviate)  says it all. With an aim to shock, provoke and outrage by all means, Australian-born choreographer Lloyd Newson has become a genuine cult figure amongst marginal lads and ladies in London, where he's based. His "physical" theatre tackles all taboos, making fun of the very non-physical tea-time prudishness of English society.

Théâtre de la Ville, 2, pl du Châtelet, 4e, METRO: Châtelet, tel: 01.42.74.22.77.

"Beethoven's Ninth Symphony" (chor. Maurice Béjart), Paris Opera Ballet Company, June 22, 23 at 8:45pm.

Two years ago at the Opéra Bastille, Maurice Béjart presented a reconstruction of this masterpiece that he had first choreographed in the '70s. But obviously the Opera wasn't big enough for this truly monumental idealist ballet based on Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy." Now Béjart has restaged the work for the gigantic Bercy complex to once again spread his message of peace, love and making the world a better place.

Palais Omnisports Paris Bercy, 8, bd de Bercy, 12e, METRO: Bercy, tel: 01.44.68.44.68.

Grupo Corpo Brazilian Dance Theater, June 9-1 at 8:30pm.

Grupo Corpo, a Brazilian dance theater company of 19 dancers based in Bela Horizonte, makes it first appearance in Paris with two works, "Parabelo" and "Nazareth" which mix modern movement with the sensuality and the "let's party hearty" atmosphere of popular Brazilian dance traditions.

Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, 15, av Montaigne, 8e, M°Alma-Marceau, tel: 01.49.52.50.50.

Mouvements d'Eté Dance Festival, June 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19 at 8:30pm; June 6, 13, 20 at 4pm.

An exciting pre-summer dance fest will be held at the Etoile du Nord, which has become in the span of a year one of Paris's main platforms promoting contemporary dance. The event features several upcoming independent choreographers, such as Xavier Lot, Bruno Sajous and Christine Gérard.

L'Etoile du Nord, 16, rue Georgette Agutte, 18e, Metro Guy Moquet, tel: 01.42.26.47.47.

Compagnie Robinson, "Aqua (2) 0," June 1, 5 at 8:30pm; June 2 at 3pm, June 6 at 4:30pm.

 Ensemble Aleph "Cabaret de Printemps," June 8, 11, 12 at 8:30pm; June 13 at 4:30pm.

What a pleasant surprise it was to see that the Dunois, which decided to convert into a children's theater (surely more lucrative) last September, hasn't given up dance altogether. Two programs of modern dance are scheduled in June which, hopefully, will set a precedent for the next season.

Théâtre Dunois, 108, rue du Chevaleret, 13e, METRO: Chevaleret, tel: 01.45.84.72.00.