Jean Gaudin

After having the opportunity to work with such personalities as Maurice Béjart and Carolyn Carlson, he presented his first choreography in 1978 at Bagnolet and decided to found his own company a year later. In his choreographic work he focuses on merging diverse means of artistic expression. Within the whole of his career he has been cooperating with video-artists anD filmmakers: altogether he has co-created more than 15 dance films to date. Likewise, he has always been intensely cooperating with musicians, composers and graphic artists. In 1995 he first cooperated with director Yves Beaunesne: since then he is regularly invited to cooperate on opera productions by the latter. Two important tendencies have been detectable in his creation since the very beginning: attraction to extraordinary locations and a relentless will to tell stories about human beings, whether humorously or seriously. His productions are presented in France as well as abroad: they were performed for example at the Théatre de la Ville in Paris or at the Avignon Theatre Festival. He has created over 30 productions and 14 dance videos: the latter were presented at the Video-Dance festival at Centre Pompidou (Paris), at the Barbican Centre in London and at the Masarat festival in Palestine. Jean Gaudin works for SE.S.TA as a mentor within choreographic residencies and as an expert within the Ateliers of Reading Dance. [ www.compagniejeangaudin.com ]