Two at the helm. The appointment of Aina Alegre and Yannick Hugron to the Centre chorégraphique national in Grenoble marks a new stage in the history of dance venues in France. While collective governance is on the increase, calling into question the unique model of centralized artist management as originally conceived in 1984, this is the first time in Grenoble, in 2023, that a performer will head the institution in association with a choreographer.
Drawing on the singularity of their bicephalous management, the two artists wish to (re)place creation at the heart of the institution's concerns and activities, and to open up the choreographic center's spaces to the various trades that " operate " in the factory: From the technician to the costume designer, not forgetting the sound designer, the administrator, the lighting engineer, the production manager, the playwright, the communications manager... While the duo of choreographer and performer occupies a unique position here, they want to share it widely with the other "workers" of the choreographic gesture, and thus highlight the collective dynamic that underpins all creative endeavors.
Because dance takes place everywhere, on TikTok and in the streets, in ballrooms and folk dancing, in theaters and museums, at sea level or high up in the mountains, the institution can't confine itself to what's happening inside its walls. Acknowledging the desire of bodies to move, circulate, meet and express themselves in contexts as varied as demonstrations, the dance floor or the web, Aina Alegre and Yannick Hugron envision the Centre chorégraphique national in Grenoble as a place of gathering, circulation and exchange, porous to the movements that shake up the social space.
The fact that the Centre chorégraphique national in Grenoble is part of a particularly dense and dynamic local cultural fabric offers exciting prospects for the institution's overflow.
Aina Alegre and Yannick Hugron are making a powerful move in a "central pyramid system" where the choreographer still enjoys a monopoly of power and institutional, professional and public recognition. By positioning themselves as performers and choreographers at the head of the institution, they invite us to break down hierarchies and pay attention to the different professions involved in dance. Rather than thinking of choreographic forms and practices in terms of opposition, or better still, of collaboration between different knowhows, we should be talking about dance and inviting all those who make it to take part in discussion and emulation: dancer in training, dancer in creation, dancer in performance, amateur dancer, professional dancer, diligent dancer, dilettante dancer, pedestrian dancer, non-dancer.
In a double process of affiliation and affirmation, Aina Alegre and Yannick Hugron propose to revert to the original name of "Centre chorégraphique national de Grenoble". In so doing, the new management team is establishing its place in history (both local and national), while at the same time asserting its intention to pursue the artistic commitments and collaborations previously undertaken within Aina Alegre's independent company "STUDIO FICTIF".
Take on artistic direction as a crossing, a passage, a transition...
Occupy the institution as a place in which to settle down, to unfold, to resonate…
And work daily to renew the imaginary of what a national choreographic center could be.
