Yoann Bourgeois

Born in 1981, Yoann Bourgeois is an internationally renowned artist who works in the fields of dance, theatre, music, visual installation and audiovisual art. He breaks down barriers and creates a dialogue between artistic approaches and artistic spaces.

Between 2004 and 2006, he joined the Centre national des arts du cirque de Châlons-en-Champagne, which he attended alternately with the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine d’Angers. He is the only student to have followed this double curriculum.
During this time he met Alexandre Del Perugia who introduced him to the idea of “play” in art and Kitsou Dubois for his research into weightlessness. He obtained his diploma in 2006.

From 2006 to 2010, he worked alongside Maguy Marin as a permanent dancer at the Centre chorégraphique national de Rillieux-la-Pape.

Every summer since 2008, he sets up L’atelier du joueur, a nomadic space dedicated to the research of living art, bringing together artists from different fields.

In 2010, the Compagnie Yoann Bourgeois was founded as a result of these collaborations. In July of the same year, the MC2-Grenoble invited him to take over the Fort de la Bastille, where he creates Cavale. It is an immediate success. Yoann Bourgeois acquires a national reputation and become an associate artist of the MC2 – Grenoble.

He then began a first cycle of creation around great musical works to study the «figure», a classic element of circus writing, in the manner of motifs. This new writing allowed the circus to emancipate itself from the dominance of the «spectacular».
From this cycle came Les Fugues, Petites danses spectaculaires pour un homme et un objet written on J. S. Bach’s Art of the Fugue.

2011 is a turning point, Yoann Bourgeois produces L’art de la fugue, based on the work of J.S. Bach. This creation is widely praised by the public and the press.

The year 2013 is one of transition. Yoann Bourgeois launches a new programme of teaching his pieces in circus schools. With the belief that circus artists must reclaim their heritage, this project, supported by the SACD, looks at the ways in which the circus can be learned so that a repertoire can emerge.

In 2014 Yoann Bourgeois affirmed his particular interest in the body/force relationship as an endless source of drama. From this research will come He who falls for the Biennale de la danse and Minuit at the Théâtre de la Ville. It was the first recognition of his work.

In 2016, he was appointed director of the Centre Chorégraphique National de Grenoble. He then became the first circus artist to direct a national institution dedicated to choreographic art. His work at the CCN2 is widely recognised for its capacity to open up and share, to break down disciplinary, social and territorial barriers.

In 2017, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux invited Yoann Bourgeois to perform in the Pantheon. This performance gaverise to a public and media ovation. The New York Times described him as a «dramatist of physics».

The year 2018 is crucial. Dominique Hervieu entrusts Yoann Bourgeois with the grand finale of the 18th Dance Biennale. He creates Passants with 25 amateurs of all ages. During the same biennial, Yoann Bourgeois took over the former Guimet Museum and co-directed with Michel Reilhac, the first acrobatic work Fugue VR in virtual reality.

Yoann Bourgeois regularly collaborates with prestigious companies such as the Nederlands Dans Theater and the Göteborg Opera. He has developed a variety of film projects with internationally renowned artists such as Coldplay, Harry Styles, FKA twigs, and Pink.
His film Les grands fantômes, shot at the Pantheon and co-directed with Louise Narboni, has received numerous international awards.

In 2022, he left the Centre Chorégraphique National de Grenoble to concentrate on his new company Yoann Bourgeois Art Company and his own projects. Yoann Bourgeois continues to expand his creative universe. He has initiated new collaborations, notably in the world of fashion, design and audiovisual.

This year, he was nominated in the «best choreographer» category at the MTV music awards for the video clip As it was by Harry Styles. In February 2023, he directed the Grammy Awards show for Harry Styles.

As a prolific creator, he has some 60 projects to his name. In continuous evolution, he is currently working on an experimental creative space in the Chartreuse massif that will combine poetic research and environmental awareness.