Varna International Ballet Competition
On 14 March 1975, Dupond became a member of the Paris Opera Ballet, at age 16. He won the gold medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition in Bulgaria, with Albrecht's variation from the second act of "Giselle" and Siegfried's variation from the third act of "Swan Lake", the solo from the Lander's "Études", Basilio's variation from "Don Quixote", a variation from "Le Corsaire", and finally a contemporary choreography created by him. In December of the same year, he was named "coryphée".