Just ten days after the death of her husband, former Paris Opera director Hugues Gall, French dancer Éric Vu-An took his last breath. He was 60 years old and had been ill for two years.
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“A magnificent dancer” and one “inspired choreographer” just went out. These are the words used by former Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot to pay tribute to French dancer Éric Vu-An who died at the age of 60 this Saturday, June 8. A disappearance which occurs only ten days after the death of her husband, Hugues Gall, former director of the Paris Opera. The former star dancer died of an illness “against which he had been fighting for two and a half years”explained a person close to him quoted by South West. Le Figaro suggests brain cancer.
Éric Vu-An: the dancer at the origin of a legendary conflict between Nureyev and Béjart has passed away
Since 2009, Éric Vu-An has been artistic director of the Nice-Mediterranean ballet (Nice Opera). “His talent, his passion and his dedication marked the culture of our city,” posted the mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi on Instagram. The city councilor expressed his “deep sadness”. “My thoughts are with his loved ones and the members of our opera”, added the politician. Before arriving in Nice, Éric Vu-An, the fruit of a Vietnamese father and a French mother, made a name for himself in Paris by joining the Paris Opera ballet dance school at the aged 10, in 1974. He became a professional dancer five years later. First of all “subject”, he found himself at the heart of a conflict between Rudolf Nureyev and Maurice Béjart around ten years later. Béjart had named him a star dancer without having the right to do so. Nureyev had forced Éric Vu-An to give up this title.
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Éric Vu-An bows out ten days after the death of his husband Hugues Gall
It was as an independent artist that Éric Vu-An bounced back. Since 1989, the dancer has mainly had a career as a choreographer. Many prestigious positions had been assigned to him: director of the ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in 1995, director of the ballet of the Opéra Théâtre d’Avignon in 1997, then ballet master at the national ballet of Marseille in 2005. Finally, he had was appointed artistic director of the Ballet Nice Méditerranée in 2009. A role he played until his death. “The illness struck him at the beginning of 2022. Since then, he fought with exemplary determination, and his husband Hugues Gall, model of Opera directors who died on May 25, a few days before him, supported him in an exemplary manner”written in the columns of Figaro journalist Ariane Bavelier. Two disappearances leaving the world of classical dance more than ever in mourning.
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias
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