Pierre-Louis Stapleton (17 July 1758 in

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– 24 February 1823 in Brussels) was a ballet dancer and choreographer, born in the

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who worked in France and the Netherlands. He was also known from around 1759 by the pseudonym Eugène Hus, after his stepfather Jean-Baptiste Hus.

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 Brussels''. In 1762, Jean-Baptiste Hus arrived in Brussels as

ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

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

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(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.

Works

* 1784 : ''Le Ballon'' (

, 9 February) * 1789 : ''L'Oracle accompli'' (

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, 24 August) * 1790 : ''Lausus et Lydie'' (

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) * 1793 : ''Les Muses, ou le Triomphe d'Apollon'' (Paris, 12 December) * 1796 : '' Lise et Colin ou La Surveillance inutile'', (Paris, 4 August) * 1797 : ''Psyché'' (

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, July) * 1798 : ''Tout cède à l'amour'' (

, August) * 1799 : ''Kiki, ou l'Île imaginaire'' (Paris, 9 November) * 1800 : ''Augustine et Benjamin, ou le Sargines de village'' (Paris, 4 November) * 1801 : ''Les Chevaliers du soleil, ou Amour et dangers'' (Paris, 21 June) * 1801 : ''L'Héroïne de Boston, ou les Français au Canada'' (Paris, 12 October) * 1802 : ''Riquet à la houpe'' (Paris, 13 December) * 1803 : ''La Fille mal gardée, ou Il n'est qu'un pas du mal au bien'', after Dauberval (Paris, 13 February) * 1803 : ''Jeanne d'Arc, ou la Pucelle d'Orléans'' (Paris, 15 April) * 1804 : ''Les Hamadryades, ou l'Amour vengé'' (

, 22 March) * 1804 : ''Les Vendangeurs du Médoc, ou les Deux baillis dupés'' (Paris, 20 July) * 1804 : ''Le Gascon gascon malgré lui'' (Paris, 17 November) * 1805 : ''L'Ingénu, ou le Sauvage du Canada'' (Paris, 17 January) * 1805 : ''Amanda'' (Paris, 31 July) * 1805 : ''L'Enchanteur Azolin, ou le Visir imaginaire'' (Paris, 12 December) * 1806 : ''La Dansomanie ou la Fête de M. Petit-Pas'' (

, August) * 1807 : ''Les Illustres fugitifs, ou les Trois journées'' (Paris, 8 January) * 1810 : ''Le Retour du seigneur, ou la Dot'' (

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, 23 February) * 1813 : ''La Pucelle d'Orléans'' (Paris, 10 November) * 1815 : ''Je l'aurais gagé !'' (

, 30 March) * 1817 : ''La Naissance du fils de Mars et de Flore, ou les Vœux accomplis'' (

, 27 March) * 1818 : ''La Fête des dames, ou la Journée du 19 janvier'' (

, 19 January) * 1818 : ''Le Nid d'amours, ou les Amours vengés'' (

, 9 March)

References

Eugène Hus at César
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hus, Eugene Entertainers from Brussels 1758 births 1823 deaths Ballet choreographers French male ballet dancers Dutch male ballet dancers French people of Irish descent 18th-century French ballet dancers Entertainers from the Austrian Netherlands