Eugène Hus

Pierre-Louis Stapleton, known as Eugène Hus (17 July 1858, Brussels - 24 February 1823, Brussels) was a Franco-Belgian ballet dancer and choreographer.

Life

He was the son of Louis Stapleton, an Irish officer in the garrison at Brussels, and Elisabeth Bayard, a ballet dancer at the Théâtre de la Monnaie known by the pseudonym Mlle Bibi. Deserted by his father when he went off on campaign, Pierre-Louis soon got on the stage alongside his mother - aged around 4 he danced before prince Charles-Alexandre de Lorraine, who offered him 50 ducats in a gold box in recognition of his precocious talents, according to Hus's obituary in the Journal de Bruxelles. In 1762, Jean-Baptiste Hus arrived in Brussels as ballet master returning to the Théâtre de la Monnaie. Pierre-Louis was adopted by Hus (Elisabeth was Hus's mistress and later wife) and followed the couple on their wanderings, performing at Lyon (1764-67 and 1770-79), where Pierre-Louis began his career as a ballet master under Hus's guidance.

With Pierre Gardel and Auguste Vestris, Eugène Hus was one of the main founders of 19th century ballet and a witness to major political and artistic changes. He was the only living link between Noverre and Russian ballet, via the Petipa family.