“Reading the emotion in my parents’ eyes was an absolute priority,” confides Éric Quilleré, dance director at the Bordeaux National Opera.
On December 5, the Vierzonnais received from the hands of Brigitte Lefèvre, former director of the Paris National Opera Ballet, the insignia of knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. Éric, who learned of his nomination in 2023, accepted this honor on the condition that his family made the trip, parents included.
“That’s what I want to do”
The presentation of the decoration “was a special moment for us (him and Odette, his wife, Editor’s note)”, relates Hilaire Quilleré, 93 years old. He remembers as if it were yesterday that his son, at the age of 8, had assured, “while leaving a dance class with Béatrice Remission at Parc de la Noue in Vierzon: “That’s what I want to do”. A year later, on the station platform, he told us: “I don't need a kick in the behind for me to get on the train”. » And added: “Today, I am very proud of him, as of all my children. »
At 58, Éric received the badge during the first performance of The Nutcracker (on view until December 31). “It was the right time. This production was a real challenge for me. If I got here, it's thanks to my family, who always supported me in this atypical career project. To my dance teacher from Vierzon who believed in me, Béatrice Discount. To the Rotary club of Vierzon which financed my studies until I was 18, without ever expecting anything in return. At the Ministry of Culture, which carried my career once I was in Paris. It was also a question of luck and encounters. »
Star in 1991
The little Berrichon rat joined the Paris Opera dance school in 1976, and was hired in the corps de ballet in 1984. He became principal dancer in 1991, then was hired as a principal dancer at the Nancy national ballet. For seven years, and from 1995, he enriched himself with his experience at Miami City Ballet, in the United States.
At 36, for health reasons, Éric knew he had to bounce back, but “nature is good, I especially remember the best moments”. The Bordeaux National Opera reached out to him in 2003 by approaching him for a position as ballet master, which he held for fourteen years. In 2017, he was hired as dance director. Today, it is appreciated for drawing from both neo-classical and contemporary repertoire, but also for encouraging emerging talents.
Éric does not hide it: he is “at heart to want to continue to make the Bordeaux Opera shine for as long as possible”. But the most urgent thing is to celebrate it again with family at Christmas, in Vierzon of course.
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