[2][3] In 1981, he joined the Ballet Théâtre Français, rising to principal dancer in 1983.
The same year, he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier award for his performance of Maurice Bejart's Songs of a Wayfarer, which he performed with Rudolf Nureyev.
[2][3] Armand has been a jury member of the Prix de Lausanne on several occasions since 1998.
He served as ballet master and also as a faculty member at Teatro alla Scala in Milan until 2010.
It was at this point that he took over as the Principal of the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee program.