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the space between the sensual rigour of movement, the evocative power of singing, and the convergence of heterogeneous historical references — from erotic literature (Aussi Bien Que Ton Cœur Ouvre Moi Les Genoux, 2008) to sacred art.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.
Upcoming tour dates François Chaignaud
June 2024
6 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) extract – Festival des Cabanes at Villa Medici, Rome (IT)
8 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) extract – Festival des Cabanes at Villa Medici, Rome (IT) extract
15 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Festival Latitudes Contemporaines, Lille (FR)
16 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Festival Latitudes Contemporaines, Lille (FR)
26 Symphonia Harmoniae Caelestium Revelationum (François Chaignaud & Marie-Pierre Brébant) – Bozar, Brussels (BE)
July 2024
19 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – ImPulsTanz, Vienna (AT)
20 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – ImPulsTanz, Vienna (AT)
22 (M)IMOSA (Cecilia Bengolea, Trajal Harrell, Marlene Monteiro Freitas & François Chaignaud) – ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival (AT)
23 (M)IMOSA (Cecilia Bengolea, Trajal Harrell, Marlene Monteiro Freitas & François Chaignaud) – ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival (AT)
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)
September 2024
8 in absentia – Fondation Royaumont/ Festival d’Automne, Paris (FR)
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
1 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Theater Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL)
2 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Theater Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL)
4 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Cité Musical-Metz, Metz (FR)
5 Mirlitons (François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux) – Cité Musical-Metz, Metz (FR)
9 Recital – Artonov Festival, Brussels (BE)
11 Un Bolero (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
4-17 Les Petites Joueuses – Louvre, Paris (FR) 6 dates to be precised
5 BLASONS & DOESDICON (François Chaignaud & Tânia Carvalho) – Jornadas Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música (INAEM), Tarragona (ES)
21 In Absentia – Chaillot, Paris (FR)
22 In Absentia – Chaillot, Paris (FR)
23 In Absentia – Chaillot, Paris (FR)
28 Mirlitons – Scène nationale d’Orléans, Orléans (FR)
29 Mirlitons – Scène nationale d’Orléans, Orléans (FR)
December 2024
7 Dumy Moyi – Centre national de la danse, Pantin (FR)
Photo: Erwan Fichou