Composing Dance 

Rachid Ouramdane

Rachid Ouramdane likes to say he lives between two mountains: the hill of the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, where he has been artistic director and choreographer-in-residence since 2021, and the Chartreuse Mountain range in the French Alps, where he escapes whenever he can. His art, which he considers a form of social activism, gives a voice to marginalized communities, and has also taken on an ecological dimension over the last decade. As a lover of landscapes, both natural and man-made, Ouramdane has drawn inspiration for his choreography by observing swarms of birds and schools of fish.

Lately, he’s turned his gaze towards the heavens, working with athletes, high-liner and climbers who have no fear of heights, creating tableaux of collective flight. For our audio series Composing Dance, the artist details his way of composing movement for groups both big and small, and tells us about his latest work, Contre-nature (Un-natural).

Director of Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse since 2021, Rachid Ouramdane discovered dance at the age of 12 through hip hop and went on to take intensive classical and modern dance classes. In the early 1990s, he quit his biology studies and joined the Centre National de danse contemporaine in Angers. As a performer and choreographer, he has worked with Meg Stuart, Odile Duboc, Hervé Robbe, Alain Buffard, Christian Rizzo, Julie Nioche, Emmanuelle Huynh and more. Rachid Ouramdane’s works are often marked by personal account and intimate experience – children refugees, torture or natural disaster victims, nonprofessional athletes, etc. – from which he creates structured choreography.

Contre-Nature
Choreography: Rachid Ouramdane
From November 6 to 17 at Chaillot Théâtre national de la danse
From December 17 to 20 at Bonlieu Scène Nationale Annecy 
January 15, 2025 at l’Opéra de Dijon

Eye of the Storm
Choreography: Rachid Ouramdane
November 21 at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Caen en Normandie

Möbius
Choreography: Compagnie XY in collaboration with Rachid Ouramdane
December 6 at Théâtre des Bergeries  
December 7 at Théâtre Louis Aragon
December 10 at Théâtre Jacques Carat
From December 12 to 14 at l’Espace 1789
December 19 at Théâtre de Corbeil-Essonnes
From December 21 to 24 at Points Communs - Théâtre des Louvrais
February 5, 2025 at La Faïencerie -Théâtre de Creil 

Les Traceurs
Choreography: Rachid Ouramdane
December 15 at Quartz - Scène Nationale de Brest

Corps Extrêmes
Choreography: Rachid Ouramdane
From December 19 to 21 at Quartz - Scène Nationale de Brest