About This Orbit: Éric Vu-An

Born in Paris, Éric Vu-An joined the Opéra de Paris ballet school in 1974.

At the age of 19, Rudolf Nureyev gave him the role of Basilio in Don Quixote before giving him a number of roles in Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake. Maurice Béjart chose him for the male lead in The Rite of Spring and appointed him to the starring role in Boléro before choreographing Mouvement-Rythme-Étude for him in 1985 and Arépo in 1986. At that point, Vu-An’s career as a dancer began reaching international heights. He became one of Maurice Béjart’s favorite dancers and in 1987, Nureyev offered him a permanent guest soloist contract at the Opéra National de Paris. He performed a number of leading roles in the opera’s repertoire, including Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and Les Intermittences du cœur by Roland Petit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by John Neumeier, Les Mirages by Serge Lifar, Études by Harald Lander, Rubies by Georges Balanchine, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe, and The Afternoon of a Faun by Vaslav Nijinsky.

In 1995, he was appointed artistic director at the Ballet du Grand Théâtre in Bordeaux and created a new version of Don Quixote. Claude Bessy called on him to attend the Opéra de Paris ballet school as a guest teacher. In 1997, he was appointed director at the Ballet de l’Opéra in Avignon, choreographing a number of ballets including Ivresses of Dionysus, Walpurgisnacht Ballet from Faust by Gounod, and the version of Coppélia he created in March 2004.

Vu-An has been the ballet master at the Ballet National de Marseille (le BNM) since January 1, 2005. In March 2005, he took to the stage at the Opéra de Marseille as the Faun in Vaslav Nijinsky’s The Afternoon of a Faun and the Moor in The Moor’s Pavane by José Limón. He created The Little Prince, directed by Sonia Petrova for the Les Temps musicaux festival in Ramatuelle on July 26, 2005. In December 2007, he adapted the first act of Swan Lake, which he performed alongside the BNM’s dancers as part of the Ouvertures n°9.

Following an invitation from Christian Estrosi, deputy mayor of Nice, in September 2009, Vu-An took on his new responsibilities as artistic director of the Ballet Nice Méditerranée, thus consolidating the place and quality of dance in Nice alongside the opera house’s new management team. Jean-Christophe Maillot invited him to dance for the 100^th anniversary of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo celebrations, and he performed in Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun on December 11 and 12, 2009. In May 2010, he performed in La Campanella by Giorgio Mancini. He also staged Maurice Béjart’s Cantate 51. After having created the role of Marco Polo, he performed in Kublai Kahn’s version at the Théâtre de Verdure and the Théâtre National de Nice.

He successfully staged Don Quixote in December 2010, followed by a Chorégraphes Américains evening in April 2011. In the summer of 2011, he took over the Jardins de Cimiez, much to the delight of an enthralled audience who had flocked there for the performance. He choreographed Coppélia for the end-of-year festivities, a production that was reused by the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in February 2012. He collaborated with renowned choreographers Lucinda Childs for Oceana and Nacho Duato for Por Vos Muero and Gnawa. In the spring, he put on a 2 Russes à Paris night and staged Chaconne and Allegro Brillante by Balanchine and Romeo and Juliet and Suite en blanc by Serge Lifar, ballets that were then added to the company’s repertoire.

On April 14, 2008 at the Palais de l’Elysée, the President of the Republic awarded Vu-An the insignia of Officer of National Order of Merit, Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, and the Legion of Honour. He was appointed Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in July 2011. He was awarded the Ariston Proballet Prize for dance and arts in May 2011.

Claude Bessy

Claude Bessy was the director of the Opéra National de Paris ballet school from 1972 to 2004. Bessy spotted Vu-An and invited him to attend the school in 1974. Vu-An accepted this invitation and used this opportunity to accelerate his learning.

Sources:

Eric Vu-An, Movie Fit
Éric Vu-An, MoBBallet
Je Ne Suit Pas Contente de Tout Disait Claude Bessy, Arts Meme

Opéra National de Paris Ballet School

Eric Vu-An joined the Ballet School of the Opéra National de Paris in 1974 and received most of his formal ballet education from the school. Then-director Claude Bessy invited young Vu-An to train at the school after spotting his unique talent. The school recognized Vu-An for his powerful and sensitive performances.

Sources:

Ballet School History, Opéra de Paris
Eric Vu An, MoBBallet
Paris Opera Ballet School, Christian de Portzamparc

Opéra National de Paris

Éric Vu-An joined the Opéra National de Paris ballet school in 1974, training and performing there until 1987. He performed works by Serge Lifar, Mikhail Fokin, and Nijinsky and worked with great artists such as Rudolf Nureyev, Noëlla Pontois, Sylvie Guillem, Marie-Claude Pietragalla, Vladimir Vasiliev and William Forsythe. Because of a conflict between Nureyev and Béjart, Vu-An left the Paris Opera and found success as an independent artist. 

Sources:

Ballet School History, Opéra de Paris
Paris Opera, Wikipedia
Artist Spotlight: Éric Vu-An, Prix de Lausanne

Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev was the director of the Paris Opera Ballet (Opéra National de Paris) from 1983-1989. He continued to dance while fulfilling his role as director. It was here that he cast Éric Vu-An in the role Basilio in Don Quixote as well as several roles in Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake. As Vu-An gained an international reputation, Nureyev offered him a permanent guest soloist contract in 1987. Vu-An performed a number of leading roles in the opera’s repertoire, including those in Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and Les intermittences du cœur by Roland Petit, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by John Neumeier, Les Mirages by Serge Lifar, Études by Harald Lander, Rubies by Georges Balanchine, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe, and The Afternoon of a Faun by Vaslav Nijinsky.

Sources:

Rudolf Nureyev, Wikipedia
Nureyev’s Short Biography, nureyev.org
La guerre des étoiles, Arts Spectacles
Eric Vu-An Makes His Way In Rough Waters, The LA Times

Maurice Béjart

Maurice Béjart chose Éric Vu-An to perform the male lead in The Rite of Spring and the starring role in Boléro before choreographing Mouvement-Rythme-Étude for him in 1985 and Arépo in 1986. At that point, Vu-An’s career as a dancer was reaching international heights. He became one of Béjart’s favorite dancers and was cast in many leading roles. Later, Vu-An staged Béjart’s Cantate 51. 

While Vu-An danced at the Paris Opera, there was a storm of drama between choreographer Béjart and director Rudolf Nureyev about Vu-An’s status in the company. Béjart wanted to grant him the role of étoile (star), but Nureyev insisted on maintaining his secondary rank as grand sujet. The matter became so heated that Béjart and Nureyev publicly castigated each other, challenging each other’s authority over the assignment of dancers in the company and even accused each other of lying. This resulted in Vu-An leaving the company in 1987 “until things settle down there.” He ended up finding success as an independent artist, and eventually returned to Paris as a guest soloist.

Sources:

Maurice Bejart, Wikipedia
Éric Vu-An Makes Way In Rough Waters, The LA Times

Nacho Duato

Nacho Duato and Éric Vu-An collaborated on two major ballet performances: Por Vos Muero and Gnawa. Por Vos Muero is a ballet choreographed using Spanish folk music from the 15th and 16th centuries. This ballet has been described as “baffling and beautiful.” Gnawa is named after an ethnic group from Morroco. The ballet drew inspiration from Valencia and mediterranean lifestyle.

Sources:

Oregon Ballet Theatre Por Vos Muero and Midsummer Nights Dream, Bachtrack
Éric Vu-An, MoBBallet
Nacho Duato, Dance Washington
Nacho Duato, Mikhailovsky

Ballet National de Bordeaux

In 1995, Éric Vu-An was appointed artistic director of the Ballet National de Bordeaux. He remained in this position until 1997, when he became director of Le Ballet de l’Opéra Grand Avignon.

Sources:

Grand Theatre de Bordeau, Wikipedia
Eric Vu An, MoBBallet
History of the Grand-Theatre, Opera Bordeaux

Le Ballet de l’Opéra Grand Avignon

Éric Vu-An was appointed director at the Le Ballet de l’Opéra Grand Avignon in 1997. As director, he choreographed several ballets such as Ivresses of Dionysus, Walpurgisnacht Ballet from Faust by Gounod, and a version of Coppélia he created in March 2004.

Sources:

Dance Company, Opéra Grand Avignon
Éric Vu-An, MoBBallet
Opéra d’Avignon, Wikipedia

Ballet National de Marseille

Éric Vu-An served as ballet master at the Ballet National de Marseille starting in January 2005. In March 2005, he took to the stage as the Faun in Vaslav Nijinsky’s The Afternoon of a Faun and the Moor in The Moor’s Pavane by José Limón at the Opéra de Marseille. He also choreographed The Little Prince, directed by Sonia Petrova for the Festival de Ramatuelle in July 2005. In December 2007, he adapted Act I of Swan Lake, which he performed alongside the BNM dancers.

Sources:

Le Ballet, Opera Grand Avignon
Éric Vu-An, MoBBallet
Ballet National de Marseille, Wikipedia

Ballet Nice Méditerranée

Éric Vu-An became the artistic director of the Ballet Nice Méditerranée in September 2009 after receiving an invitation from Christian Estrosi, the deputy mayor of Nice. As artistic director, Vu-An has prioritized the quality of dance alongside the new management team of the opera house.

Sources:

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Wikipedia
Éric Vu-An, MoBBallet
Opéra de Nice, Wikipedia

Lucinda Childs

Éric Vu-An and Lucinda Childs collaborated on the creation of the ballet Oceana. The work was originally created for the Ballet Nice Méditerranée in 2011. Vu-An and Childs attempted to create a work that would explore the beauty of choreography. Oceana has been described as a work that has an “atmospheric, fluid, and ethereal” feeling to it. The work is centered on the feeling of ocean and has been performed by the Ballet Nice Méditerranée for multiple seasons.

Sources:

Lucinda Childs, Joyce
History, Lucinda Childs
A Contemporary Triptych from Ballet Nice Méditerranée, Riviera Buzz

Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo

Jean-Christophe Maillot invited Éric Vu-An to dance for the 100th anniversary of the Ballets Russe de Monte-Carlo celebrations. There, Vu-An performed in the prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun in December 2009. A few months later, in May 2010, he performed in La Campanella by Giorgio Mancini. He additionally staged Maurice Béjart’s Cantate 51. 

Sources:

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Britannica
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Wikipedia
Éric Vu-An, MoBBallet