Dance, Music

Último helecho

Nina Laisné and François Chaignaud with Nadia Larcher

World premiere: 19 July 2025, ImPulsTanz, Vienna

A naked person bends into a crooked position between two crevices.

As an international co-production, artists Nina Laisné and François Chaignaud and singer Nadia Larcher have developed “Último helecho”, a performance that is carried by music, singing and dance at once and where Baroque meets South American folklore and mythology.

“Último helecho” is the second cooperation between François Chaignaud and Nina Laisné following “Romances inciertos, un autre Orlando”, for which they invented a special, poetically artistic cosmos: Drag and dance, old Spanish songs and queer hero*ine narratives were interwoven into a celebration of fluid identities and forms of expression.

The subjects and devices used to create “Último helecho” are similarly diverse: Nina Laisné, who is a filmmaker and visual artist as well as creating performances, is in charge of music and stage direction as well as scenography. While professional dancer François Chaignaud also sings on stage – in “Romances inciertos”, he accompanied his solos with falsetto and bass singing –, Nadia Larcher, who is a celebrated singer in South America, will try out the folklore dances of her native lands together with him on stage for the first time. The multifaceted repertoire of traditional music and dances from Argentina – ranging from chacareras via the majestic zambas to the huaynos – will serve as the underpinnings of the performance. The duo will be accompanied live on stage by six musicians whose artistic roots lie partly in Baroque and partly in folklore.

The show is made up of two parts. The first one reminds us of a past, sunken world where two hybrid creatures come to life. The second part is characterized by great vitality and a series of high-energy dances. “Último helecho” confronts and combines aesthetic practices from Europe and South America, evoking the joint history of both continents which is also a history of marginalization and exploitation, and of imperialism. Thus, with the power of the poetry and marvels that the songs and dances are grounded in, the performance explores the possibilities of solace and reconciliation.

The artistic creations of François Chaignaud and Nina Laisné are multifaceted and distinctive attempts to draw from the most diverse traditions and sources. While Nina Laisné is active in the fields of both performing and visual arts, François Chaignaud works as a dancer, performer, singer and choreographer. They are connected to singer and composer Nadia Larcher by an enjoyment of exploring limits and a longing to merge past, history and present.

Artistic Team

Nina Laisné – Original Idea, Musical and Stage Direction, Scenography
François Chaignaud – Choreography, Artistic Collaboration
Nadia Larcher – Music Consulting, Artistic Collaboration

Performers

François Chaignaud, Nadia Larcher

Musicians

Rémi Lécorché – tenor sackbut, serpent, flute
Nicolas Vazquez – tenor sackbut
Cyril Bernhard / Joan Marín – bass sackbut, wacrapuco
Jean-Baptiste Henry – bandoneon
Daniel Zapico – theorb, sachaguitarra
Vanesa García – traditional percussions

Abigail Fowler – Lighting Design
Sara Ruiz Marmolejo, Anthony Merlaud – General Manager
Sara Ruiz Marmolejo, Hervé Bailly – Stage Manager
Anthony Merlaud, Abigail Fowler – Lighting Technician
Alice Lemoigne, Camille Frachet, Arthur Frick, Guilhem Angot – Sound Technicians
Cara Ben Assayag, Sarah Duvert – Dresser on tour
Julie Reilles – Scenography Assistant
Arteoh – Benoît Brobst and Augustin Brobst – Structure Engineer
Theatre de Liège (Technical Director: Emmanuel Deck; Workshop Manager: Cédric Debatty; Carpenters: David Halleux, Ferdinand Durmisovski, Aurélien Defize, Ioannis Katikakis, Philippe Gustin; Metalworker: Gary Gouders; Set Designer: Sandra Belloi;Trainee: Felix Pêcheur); Les 2 Scènes – Scène nationale de Besançon (Technical Director:Emmanuel Cèbe; Builder: David Chazelet); Builder: Gaby Sittler; Props: France Chevassut,Nina Laisné; Painters: France Chevassut, Sylvie Mitault, Alan Da Silva, Nina Laisné – Set Construction
Sarah Duvert, Florence Bruchon – Costumes Design, Marketing
Théâtre de Liège (Cutters: Christine Picqueray, Anicia Echevarria; Seamstresses: Agnès Brouhon, Christelle Vanbergen; Coordinator: Pierre Matteucci; Trainees: Nathan Ludwig,Zoé Jacobs); Opéra de Limoges (Costume Designer: Nelli Vermel; Assistant Costume Designer: Raymonde Maranay; Trainee: Pauline Saintonge); Dyer: Amandine Brun-Sauvant; Cabinetmaker: Mathieu Paesmans; false skulls: Rebecca Flores Martinez, Sarah Duvert, Wigmakers: Coline Bourdere, Caroline Porte – Costumes Making
Orane Bernard, Pauline Couturon, Plume Ducret, Léa Warin-d’Houdetot – Trainees
Rodrigo Jesus Colomba, Maximiliano Colussi, Gustavo Gomez, Carlos González, Ivana Herrera, Pablo Lugones, Petete, Nelson Vega and Yanina Olmos, Jorge Vázquez and Alexis Mirenda – Dance Transmission
Zorongo (Martine Girol,Coralie Basset,Valentina Salazar Henao), Mandorle Productions(Chloé Perol,Jeanne Lefèvre,Emma Forster) – Administration, Production
Bureau Platô (Séverine Péan) – Production, Tour

Executive Production by Zorongo in association with Mandorle Productions

Zorongo is supported by the Ministère de la Culture – DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Nina Laisné is an associate artist at the Quartz – Scène nationale de Brest and at the Grand R – Scène nationale de La Roche-sur-Yon.
Mandorle Productions is supported by the Ministère de la Culture – DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. François Chaignaud is an associate artist at Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse, as well as the Maison de la danse and the Biennale de la danse de Lyon.

Co-produced by Berliner Festspiele, Théâtre de Liège, Les 2 Scènes – Scène nationale de Besançon, Le Quartz – Scène nationale de Brest, Maison de la danse / Pôle européen de création, en soutien à la Biennale de Lyon, PACT Zollverein, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse, Théâtre de la Ville – Paris, Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers, Dans in December Brugge, Le Grand R – Scène Nationale La Roche-sur-Yon, Charleroi Danse – Centre chorégraphique de Wallonie-Bruxelles, Opéra de Limoges, Julidans Amsterdam, Le Manège, scène nationale – Reims, La Comédie de Clermont – Clermont Ferrand, Malraux scène nationale Chambéry Savoie, MC2: Maison de la Culture de Grenoble – Scène Nationale, Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy, Château Rouge – Scène conventionnée Annemasse, Theater Freiburg, Oriente occidente, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne, Festival Musica, Strasbourg, Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg – Scène européenne, POLE-SUD, CDCN Strasbourg, La Filature – Scène nationale, Mulhouse, théâtre Garonne – Scène européenne – Toulouse

The show is supported by Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and the Inver Tax Shelter.

With the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels

Residencies: La Ménagerie de Verre, CND, Pantin