Born in Paris, Duport studied dance under Jean-François Coulon and began his career on the Boulevards and at the Ambigu-Comique.
He then made his debut at the Opéra de Paris in 1800, quickly becoming its premier danseur, with rivalries with Auguste Vestris as a dancer and with Pierre Gardel as a choreographer.
He unilaterally broke his contract in 1808 and left Paris for Saint Petersburg, via Vienna.
[1] At the Mariinsky Theatre, he danced in the ballets by Charles-Louis Didelot, in January 1812 he danced in Warsaw, before being made the head of a theatre in Naples and returning to Vienna as professor and director at the Theater am Kärntnertor.
[2] From June to November 1837, he stayed in Warsaw with his Viennese student, prima ballerina Helene Schanzowsky, married name Grekowska.