François Chaignaud

A 2003 graduate from the National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance, François Chaignaud has collaborated with numerous choreographers, including Alain Buffard, Boris Charmatz, Emmanuelle Huynh and Gilles Jobin. Since the creation of his first piece in 2004, he has taken up a multiplicity of roles as dancer, choreographer, singer, actor, historian and cabaret artist. His work – which weaves for dance the aspiration of a comprehensive expression delving into the porosity and potential of bodies – has been characterized since early on by the articulation of singing and dance. With a degree in history, he nourishes his art with in-depth research. The historical depth is reflected in his own pieces as well as in the numerous collaborations he has done, and continues to do, with cabaret artist Jérôme Marin (“Sous l’ombrelle”, 2011), Marie Caroline Hominal (“Duchesses”, 2009) and the artist Théo Mercier (“Radio Vinci Park”, 2016), among others.

Between 2005 and 2016 Chaignaud created with Cecilia Bangolea a series of noteworthy shows that were presented worldwide, 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 the organization Mandorle Productions, which supports his desire to follow a line of artistic creation marked by numerous collaborations. With Nina Laisné, he created “Romances inciertos, un autre Orlando” (2017). This piece was presented at the 72nd edition of the Festival d’Avignon and brought together signing and dance around androgynous figures drawn from Spanish Baroque folklore. Together, they currently are conducting research around partner dances in South America.

In his ongoing relationship to music, Chaignaud presented “Symphonia Harmoniæ Cælesitum Revelationum” (2019) with Marie-Pierre Brébant, a piece in which he signs the complete repertoire of Hildegard of Bingen. In 2020 he co-created with the butoh pioneer Akaji Maro the duet “GOLD SHOWER”, presented at the Festival d’Automne in Paris. In the same year he performed “Un bolero”, a choreography developed in dialogue with Dominique Brun and the orchestra Les Siècles and based on Bronislava Nijinska’s oeuvre. In recent years, Chaignaud has developed a choreographic practice outside of his own work on stage: In 2018 he made “Soufflette” for fourteen dancers of the Norwegian ballet company Carte Blanche. In 2022 he presented “t u m u l u s”, a work sung and danced by thirteen performers and made in collaboration with Geoffroy Jourdain (Les Cris de Paris), and, “Blasons”, a short piece created for the Madeira-based company Dançando com a Diferença. In 2023 he created “Cortèges” with composer Sasha J. Blondeau and “Mirlitons” with beatboxer Aymeric Hainaux.

Chaignaud received the prize “Personnalité choréographique” (Personality of choreography) from the French Syndicate of Critique in 2021. A Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, he is Associate Artist at Chaillot — Théâtre National de la Danse, Paris, and of Lyon’s Maison de la danse and Biennale de la danse.