In a makeshift garage, a helmeted biker and  an outlandish creature, accompanied by mysterious mechanics, engage in a ritual to the sound of a harpsichord. A frontal collision between  courtship display and kill.

In 2016, Théo Mercier and François Chaignaud, with their piece Radio Vinci Park, orchestrated an explosive encounter between an outlandish creature in high heels and an enigmatic helmeted biker. In a makeshift garage converted into an arena hemmed by metal barriers, the two beings engaged in a strange ritual, somewhere between courtship ritual and kill.  Mercier has since conducted a number of stage experiences, particularly  with the choreographer Steven Michel (Affordable Solution for Better Living)  and with Marlène Saldana and Jonathan Drillet (La fille du  collectionneur) or recently, with the Outremonde saga, an exhibition and  performances devised with sand. Meanwhile, choreographer-dancer Chaignaud has continued his search for a porous and penetrable body,  displaying a fresh facet of his rich artistic personality in each work.  For his reunion with Radio Vinci Park in a “reloaded” version, there are now five performers on the track – which soon bursts at the seams as the engine of fantasy roars into overdrive.

Source: Biennale de la danse

After graduating in 2003 from the CNSMD of Paris, François Chaignaud has  collaborated with numerous choreographers (Alain Buffard, Boris  Charmatz, Emmanuelle Huynh, 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 the aspiration for dance of a comprehensive expression  delving into the porosity and potential of bodies—is early on  characterized by the singing and dance articulation (Думи мої, 2013). Degreed in history, he nourishes his art with in-depth research. The historical depth reflects in his own pieces  as well as in the numerous collaborations he has done, and continues to  do, including with cabaret artist Jérôme Marin (Sous l’ombrelle, 2011), Marie Caroline Hominal (Duchesses, 2009), and visual artist Théo Mercier (Radio Vinci Park,  2016). Between 2005 and 2016, Chaignaud creates with Cecilia Bangolea a  series of noteworthy shows that are showed worldwide, including Pâquerettes (2005–2008), Sylphides (2009), (M)IMOSA (co-written with and performed with Trajal Harrell and Marlene Monteiro Freitas, 2011), Dub Love (2013), and DFS  (2016). In 2021, he founds the organization mandorle productions, which  supports his desire to follow a line of artistic creation marked by  numerous collaborations. With Nina Laisné, he creates Romances inciertos, un autre Orlando  (2017). The piece is presented at the 72nd edition of the Festival  d’Avignon and brings together signing and dance around androgynous  figures drawn from Spanish Baroque folklore. They are currently  conducting research around partner dances in South America.

More information : https://mandorleproductions.fr

Born in Paris in 1984, Théo Mercier is a French  sculptor and stage director who lives and works between Paris and  Marseille (France). Claiming formal freedom, Théo Mercier sets out to  deconstruct the mechanisms of history, objects and representations, in  which he recreates harmonious contradictions. By turns explorer,  collector and artist, his work is at the crossroads of anthropology,  geopolitics, tourism and landscape. Resident at Villa Medici in 2013 and  nominated for the Marcel-Duchamp prize in 2014, Théo Mercier has also  won the Silver Lion at the 2019 Venice Biennale for Dance with Steven  Michel, as well as the Jury Prize for the French Pavilion at the Prague  Quadrennial in 2023 with Céline Peychet. In 2022, he was awarded  Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. He  has had major solo exhibitions at the Villa Medici (Roma), the  Conciergerie de Paris, the Fondation Luma Westbau (Zurich), the  Collection Lambert (Avignon), the Museo El Eco (Mexico), the Habana  Biennial (Cuba), the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Paris), the  [mac] Musée d’art contemporain (Marseille), the Lieu Unique (Nantes) and  the Tri Postal (Lille). His work has also been shown in numerous group  shows, including at the Centre Pompidou (Paris, Shanghai), the Hamburger  Banhof (Berlin), the Palacio Bellas Artes (Mexico) and Arts Jameel  (Dubai). Shifting from the “white cube” to the “black box”, Mercier is  also a stage director. His performances have been shown at  Nanterre-Amandiers, the Festival d’Automne, the Ménagerie de verre and  the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Festival d’Avignon, Theater Spektakel  (Zurich), Vidy (Lausanne), La Bâtie (Geneva), Usine C (Montreal), The  Invisible dog Art Center (New York), the Festival Actoral (Marseille),  the Vooroit Art Center (Ghent) or the Short Theater (Rome), among  others.

Théo Mercier is represented by galerie mor charpentier (Paris,  Bogota), and is Associate Artist at the Théâtre National de Bretagne  (Rennes).

Source : theomercier.com

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc).
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr