| Éric Vu-An | |
| Birth Name: | Éric Binh Vu-An |
| Birth Date: | 1964 1, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Paris, France |
| Death Place: | Nice, France |
| Nationality: | French |
| Occupation: | Dancer Choreographer |
| Education: | École de Danse |
Éric Binh Vu-An (3 January 1964 – 8 June 2024) was a French dancer, choreographer, and actor.[1]
Born in Paris on 3 January 1964, Vu-An's father was Guadeloupean and his mother was Vietnamese.[2] He enrolled in the École de Danse in 1974 after his recruitment by Claude Bessy and an age exemption from the . In 1982, he began his first soloist roles at the Paris Opera Ballet. He was cast as the lead in a production of Don Quixote by Rudolf Nureyev in 1983 before Maurice Béjart gave him the lead in Boléro.[3] A dispute arose in March 1986 between Béjard and Nureyev over the announcement of Vu-An and Manuel Legris as a danseur étoile. The dispute was settled in Nureyev's favor, with Legris becoming a danseur étoile.[4] Vu-An then left the Paris Opera and joined the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, where he served as head of ballet from 1995 to 1997. On 1 January 2005, he was named a ballet master associated with the leader of the Ballet National de Marseille, Frédéric Flamand.
In 2009, Vu-An became artistic director of ballet at the Opéra de Nice. In 2018, a post made on Mediapart accused him of "managing his troupe with a feeling of omnipotence" and that he harassed pregnant dancers.[5] One of the dancers, Gaëla Pujol, filed a complaint against him for harassment.[6] Pujol alleged that the behavior was recurring and that she could provide testimony from fellow dancers and victims.[7] However, Vu-An denounced the allegations.[8] On 24 April 2018, it was announced that officials in Nice would investigate the claims.[9] However, Vu-An was not indicted for his action due to lack of evidence, and the presiding judge dismissed the case on 11 July 2022.[10] An investigating chamber in Aix-en-Provence upheld the dismissal on 30 March 2023.[11]
Vu-An was diagnosed with a brain tumour in early 2022.[12] He died in Nice on 8 June 2024, at the age of 60, two weeks after his husband, Hugues Gall, died.[13]