FRANÇOIS CHAIGNAUD
View the list of upcoming tour dates below
Born in Rennes, François Chaignaud studied dance from the age of six. He earned a diploma in 2003 from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse de Paris, collaborating soon after with several choreographers, notably Boris Charmatz, Emmanuelle Huynh, Alain Buffard, and Gilles Jobin. From He’s One that Goes to Sea for Nothing but to Make him sick (2004) to Думи мої (2013), he has created performances in which dance and singing intersect, in a wide variety of environments and at the meeting points of many inspirations. From this tension, the possibility of a body takes shape, inhabiting the space between the sensual rigour of movement, the evocative power of singing, and the convergence of heterogeneous historical references — from erotic literature (Aussi Bien Que Ton Cœur Ouvre Moi Les Genoux, 2008) to sacred art. Also historian, François Chaignaud published L’Affaire Berger-Levrault: le féminisme à l’épreuve (1898-1905) with PUR. His curiosity for history has driven him to initiate various collaborations, notably with legendary drag queen Rumi Missabu of the Cockettes, cabaret performer Jérôme Marin (Sous l’ombrelle, 2011), artist Marie Caroline Hominal (Duchesses, 2009), fashion designers Romain Brau and Charlie Le Mindu, visual artist Théo Mercier, photographer Donatien Veismann and videast Cesar Vayssié. Chaignaud has been commissioned to create a film installation for 24 FRAMES per second in CarriageWorks Sydney.
In collaboration with artist Nino Laisné, he has created a piece entitled Romances inciertos: un autre Orlando, bringing together four instrumentalists around various ambiguous motifs of genre from the choreographic and vocal Iberian repertoire. The piece has been shown as part of the 2018 programme of the festival d’Avignon. In 2018 François Chaignaud also choreographed Soufflette, a piece for the Carte Blanche Ballet (Norway) in collaboration with Romain Brau premiered in May in Studio Bergen.
His latest creation Symphonia Harmoniæ Cælesitum Revelationum is a research on the Antique Christian song repertoire as well as Hildegard Von Bingen conceived in collaboration with Marie-Pierre Brébant. The show premiered in May 2019 at the Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels. His upcoming projects include collaborations with notably: Akaji Maro, Dominique Brun and Les Siècles orchestra and a new collaboration with Geoffroy Jourdain and vocal ensemble Les Cris de Paris.
François Chaignaud tour dates 24/25
August 2024
17 Gold Shower (François Chaignaud & Akaji Maro) – Taipei Arts Festival, Taipei (TW)
18 Gold Shower (François Chaignaud & Akaji Maro) – Taipei Arts Festival, Taipei (TW)
24 Sancyo no Dekigoto : GOLD SHOWER ! (François Chaignaud & Akaji Maro) – Rokko Meets Art, Kobe (JP)
25 Sancyo no Dekigoto : GOLD SHOWER ! (François Chaignaud & Akaji Maro) – Rokko Meets Art, Kobe (JP)
September 2024
08 In absentia (François Chaignaud & Geoffroy Jourdain) – Fondation Royaumont / Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR) PREMIERE
19 BLASONS & DOESDICON (François Chaignaud & Tânia Carvalho) – SÃO LUIZ TEATRO MUNICIPAL, Lisbon (PT)
20 BLASONS & DOESDICON (François Chaignaud & Tânia Carvalho) – São Luiz Teatro Municipal, Lisbon (PT)
21 BLASONS & DOESDICON (François Chaignaud & Tânia Carvalho) – São Luiz Teatro Municipal, Lisbon (PT)
October 2024
01 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Theater Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL)
02 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Theater Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL)
04 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Cité Musicale, Metz (FR)
05 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Cité Musicale, Metz (FR)
09 Récital – Artonov Festival, Brussels (BE)
11 Un Boléro (Dominique Brun & François Chaignaud) – L’échangeur, Château Thierry (FR)
15 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Théâtre de l’Arsenal, Val de Reuil (FR)
November 2024
04 Petites Joueuses – Le Louvre / Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR) PREMIERE
05 BLASONS & DOESDICON (François Chaignaud & Tânia Carvalho) – Jornadas Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música (INAEM), Tarragona (ES)
07 Petites Joueuses – Le Louvre / Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR) PREMIERE
09 Petites Joueuses – Le Louvre / Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR) PREMIERE
11 Petites Joueuses – Le Louvre / Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR) PREMIERE
14 Petites Joueuses – Le Louvre / Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR) PREMIERE
16 Petites Joueuses – Le Louvre / Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR) PREMIERE
21 In absentia (François Chaignaud & Geoffroy Jourdain) – Chaillot, Paris (FR)
22 In absentia (François Chaignaud & Geoffroy Jourdain) – Chaillot, Paris (FR) with Experience Chaillot #3 – cabarets
23 In absentia (François Chaignaud & Geoffroy Jourdain) – Chaillot, Paris (FR) with Experience Chaillot #3 – cabarets
28 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Scène nationale d’Orléans, Orléans (FR)
29 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Scène nationale d’Orléans, Orléans (FR)
December 2024
07 Dumy Moyi – Centre national de la danse, Pantin (FR)
February 2025
06 Un Boléro + Récital – Pavillon Noir, Aix-en-Provence (FR)
20 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Maison de la Danse, Lyon (FR)
21 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Maison de la Danse, Lyon (FR)
March 2025
05 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Montpellier Danse, Montpellier (FR)
06 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Montpellier Danse, Montpellier (FR)
07 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Montpellier Danse, Montpellier (FR)
12 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – La Filature, Mulhouse (FR)
13 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – La Filature, Mulhouse (FR)
15 Un Boléro + Récital – CNDC, Angers (FR)
21 Un Boléro – Opéra de Bordeaux, Bordeaux (FR)
22 Un Boléro + Récital – Biennale du Val-de-Marne, Vincennes (FR)
April 2025
01 Romances Inciertos – Les 2 scènes, Besançon (FR)
02 Romances Inciertos – Les 2 scènes, Besançon (FR)
May 2025
06 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – STHLM DANS, Stockholm (SE)
07 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – STHLM DANS, Stockholm (SE)
09 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – New Baltic Dance Festival, Vilnius (LT)
10 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – New Baltic Dance Festival, Vilnius (LT)
13 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Théâtre de Sète (FR)
14 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Théâtre de Sète (FR)
16 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Zurich Tanzt / Gessnerallee, Zurich (CH)
17 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Zurich Tanzt / Gessnerallee, Zurich (CH)
20 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – CCN de Caen aux Halles de Falaise (FR)
23 Radio Vinci Park (François Chaignaud & Theo Mercier) – Dance Festival, München (DE)
24 Radio Vinci Park (François Chaignaud & Theo Mercier) – Dance Festival, München (DE)
22 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Festival Extension Sauvage, Combourg (FR)
Photo: Erwan Fichou