PROGRAMME
SERVICE
François Chaignaud graduated in 2003 from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse (CNSMD) in Paris. He has collaborated with numerous choreographers, including Alain Buffard, Boris Charmatz, Emmanuelle Huynh, and Gilles Jobin. Since creating his first work in 2004, he has moved fluidly between roles as a dancer, choreographer, singer, actor, historian, and cabaret artist. His work – which explores dance as a vehicle for rich expressive potential and examines the permeability and possibilities of the body – has always been deeply marked by the interplay of voice and movement (Думи мої, 2013).
Holding a degree in history, Chaignaud enriches his artistic practice with in-depth research. This historical depth is reflected both in his solo creations and in his many collaborations, such as with cabaret performer Jérôme Marin (Sous l’ombrelle, 2011), Marie-Caroline Hominal (Duchesses, 2009), or visual artist Théo Mercier (Radio Vinci Park, 2016).
Between 2005 and 2016, Chaignaud developed a series of remarkable works with Cecilia Bengolea, presented across the globe, including Pâquerettes (2005–2008), Sylphides (2009), (M)IMOSA (with Trajal Harrell and Marlene Monteiro Freitas, 2011), Dub Love (2013), and DFS (2016).
In 2021, he founded Mandorle Productions, an organisation that supports his creative output and numerous collaborations. Together with Nina Laisné, he created Romances inciertos, un autre Orlando (2017), which was presented at the 72nd edition of the Festival d’Avignon. The piece brought together singing and dancing around androgynous figures from Spanish Baroque folklore. The duo is currently researching couple dances in South America.
His close relationship with music led to the creation of Symphonia Harmoniæ Cælesitum Revelationum in 2019, a collaboration with Marie-Pierre Brébant, in which Chaignaud performs the entire repertoire of Hildegard von Bingen. In 2020, he created the duet GOLD SHOWER with Butoh pioneer Akaji Maro, premiered at the Festival d’Automne in Paris. That same year, he appeared in Un boléro, a choreography developed with Dominique Brun and the orchestra Les Siècles, inspired by Bronislava Nijinska’s work.
In recent years, Chaignaud has also extended his choreographic work beyond his own productions. In 2018, he created Soufflette for fourteen dancers of the Norwegian company Carte Blanche. In May 2022, he premiered t u m u l u s, a sung and danced work for thirteen performers, in collaboration with Geoffroy Jourdain (Les Cris de Paris). In October 2022, he presented Blasons, a short piece created with the Madeira-based company Dançando com a Diferença. Cortèges, created with composer Sasha J. Blondeau, premiered in June 2023, followed by Mirlitons in October, a collaboration with beatboxer Aymeric Hainaux.
In 2021, François Chaignaud was awarded the Personnalité chorégraphique award by the Syndicat de la Critique Française. He is a Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and an associate artist at the Chaillot – Théâtre National de la Danse in Paris, as well as at the Maison de la Danse and the Biennale de la danse in Lyon.
2025
