1992年，15歲的譚元元參加了法國國際芭蕾舞蹈比賽，當(dāng)時比賽舞臺有5-7度的傾斜，她是第一次遇到。但她不僅沒被這一意外嚇住，反而表現(xiàn)格外優(yōu)異，得到了俄羅斯芭蕾舞大師烏蘭諾娃的贊賞，給了她一個滿分。

In 1992, 15-year-old Tan Yuanyuan took part in the French international ballet competition. At that time, the stage had a 5-7 degree tilt, which was the first time she met. But not only was she not frightened by the accident, but she performed exceptionally well. She was praised by Russian ballet master ulannova and gave her a full score.

1993年，16歲的譚元元在日本名古屋首屆國際舞蹈比賽上再獲金獎，并因此得到由波蘭大使親自頒發(fā)的“尼金斯基大獎”，在此之前，這個大獎都是頒給杰出的成年芭蕾舞男演員的。

In 1993, 16-year-old Tan won the gold medal again at the first international dance competition in Nagoya, Japan, and won the "nikinski Award" personally presented by the Polish ambassador. Before that, the awards were given to outstanding adult ballerinas.

1995年，她隨上海芭蕾舞團出國演出，被舊金山芭蕾舞團“相中”。就這樣，譚元元來到了舊金山，成為合約演員。在競爭者林立的芭蕾舞團中，她每年都能獲得續(xù)約，在每次演出季都擔(dān)任主要角色，是舞團中備受重視的首席演員之一。

In 1995, she went abroad to perform with the Shanghai Ballet Company and was "photographed" by the San Francisco Ballet. In this way, Tan Yuan Yuan came to San Francisco and became a contract actor. In the ballet company with many competitors, she can be renewed every year, and plays a major role in each performance season. She is one of the most important leading actors in the company.