Julien Favreau has been confirmed in his position as artistic director of Béjart Ballet Lausanne (BBL). The Frenchman, a dancer for 30 years with the company, has been acting in this role since February.
This appointment ‘guarantees the perpetuation of the artistic legacy of Maurice Béjart’. It also “reinforces the extremely dynamic new momentum that the company has experienced” since Julien Favreau took over as artistic director, the BBL announced in a press release on Friday.
The Foundation Board unanimously appointed Julien Favreau. Born in 1977 in La Rochelle, the Frenchman trained in classical and contemporary dance before joining the Rudra Béjart school in Lausanne in 1994.
Quickly spotted by Maurice Béjart, he joined the ballet a year later, subsequently taking on important roles. After the death of Maurice Béjart and under the artistic direction of Gil Roman from 2007, he continued to take on soloist roles and participated in various creations.
Last February, he took over the artistic direction ad interim after the dismissal of Gil Roman. The latter, on probation after an audit revealed his sometimes insulting and angry behavior, had committed ‘one too many’ in January at the Opéra Garnier in Paris.
He was invited to the performance and then to the private aperitif with the troupe, the former production director of the BBL, dismissed in 2021 for attitudes and comments amounting to sexual harassment.
/ATS
