Julien Favreau joined the Béjart Ballet Lausanne thirty years ago.
He has played countless significant roles in the ballets of Maurice Béjart and Gil Roman as a soloist throughout his career. Given his deep dedication to the work of the BBL’s founder, it is only logical that the BBL Foundation Board decided to appoint him as interim Artistic Director on March 1, 2024. He will then be confirmed in this role as Artistic Director on September 1, 2024.
At the helm of the company, Julien Favreau in turn claims the preservation of the entrusted heritage and its authenticity, while bringing a contemporary energy to it.
Winner of the Prix des Étoiles de Ballet 2000 in Cannes in 2006 and the Premio Positano “Leonide Massine” per la danza in 2012, Julien Favreau studied classical and contemporary dance at the École Nationale de Musique et de Danse de La Rochelle under the direction of Colette Milner.
He joined the École-Atelier Rudra Béjart in 1994. The following year, noticed by Maurice Béjart, he joined the company. From then on, the Master entrusted him with significant roles created specifically for him, in productions such as Zarathoustra, Le chant de la danse, L’Amour-la Danse, Elton Berg, La Route de la Soie, Enfant-Roi and Nutcracker. In ballet revivals, he was given several key roles such as in The Rite of Spring, Ballet for Life, Serait-ce la Mort ?, Brel et Barbara, The Magic Flute, Dibouk, Le Teck and Bhakti.
Under the artistic direction of Gil Roman from 2007 onwards, he took on soloist roles in the BBL’s repertoire, starting with the famous role of “La Mélodie” in Bolero, but also in Light, Le Concours, Le Marteau sans maître, Sonate à 3, Béjart fête Maurice, The Ninth Symphony, Un cygne d’autrefois se souvient que c’est lui and Wien, Wien, nur du Allein. Julien also participated in Gil Roman’s creations, such as Casino des Esprits, Anima Blues, Aria, Tombées de la dernière pluie, t’M et variations… and Tous les hommes presque toujours s’imaginent. He was featured in the works of BBL’s guest choreographers such as Andonis Foniadakis, Sthan Kabar-Louet, Tony Fabre, Marc Hollogne, Yuka Oishi and Valentina Turcu.
Julien Favreau is frequently invited to international galas and was the subject of a documentary directed by Michel Dami in 2005, “Julien Favreau, en attendant Zarathoustra”, for the Télévision Suisse Romande.