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| Compagnie Renaud Cojo | |
|---|---|
| Name | Compagnie Renaud Cojo |
| Founded | 1990s |
| Founder | Renaud Cojo |
| Headquarters | Lyon, France |
| Genre | Contemporary dance, physical theatre |
Compagnie Renaud Cojo is a contemporary dance and physical theatre company founded in Lyon by choreographer Renaud Cojo. The company is known for interdisciplinary projects that intersect with visual arts, music, and cinema, and has collaborated with theatres, festivals, and cultural institutions across Europe. Its work engages with performers, composers, directors, and designers from diverse backgrounds, attracting attention from critics, curators, and funding bodies.
Renaud Cojo founded the company during a period of renewed interest in contemporary choreography in France alongside figures such as Mathieu Ganio, Angelin Preljocaj, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Marie Chouinard, and institutions like Centre Chorégraphique National de Lyon, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Comédie-Française, Opéra de Lyon, and Maison de la Danse. Early residencies and co-productions involved collaboration with producers and venues including Festival d'Avignon, Avignon Off, La Biennale de Lyon, Festival Montpellier Danse, Théâtre de la Ville, and Palais Garnier. The company received support from regional and national bodies such as Ministry of Culture (France), DRAC Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Institut Français, and municipal cultural services in Lyon, Marseille, and Paris. Tours expanded to partnerships with presenters like Sadler's Wells, Lincoln Center, Teatro alla Scala, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Théâtre du Châtelet, and European networks including Aerowaves and European Dancehouse Network. Historical collaborations included artists from France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Canada.
The repertoire encompasses works staged at venues such as Maison de la Culture de Grenoble, Théâtre de Nîmes, Opéra-Comique, Centre Pompidou, Musée d'Orsay, Tate Modern, Palais de Tokyo, and festivals like Les Nuits de Fourvière, Festival d'Automne à Paris, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Productions often bear influence from choreographers and directors like Pina Bausch, Maurice Béjart, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Vaslav Nijinsky, and dramaturgs associated with Peter Brook and Robert Wilson. Musical collaborators and composers have included references to work by Philippe Herreweghe, Olivier Messiaen, Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and contemporary composers linked to IRCAM and Gaîté Lyrique. Set and costume designers have roots in collectives connected to Christian Lacroix, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Sonia Delaunay, and scenographers from Gare Saint-Sauveur-style venues.
The company's aesthetic resonates with traditions established by Jacques Tati-influenced physical comedy, Antonin Artaud-inflected intensity, and Federico García Lorca-inspired lyricism, combining techniques associated with Martha Graham, Krzysztof Penderecki collaborations, and training methods from institutions like CNDC Angers, École des Sables, Paris Conservatoire, and P.A.R.T.S.. Projects have integrated multimedia practices developed alongside Chris Cunningham-style video artists, lighting designers from the lineage of Jean Kalman, and live sound engineers with ties to La Scala Orchestra and ensembles such as Ensemble InterContemporain. Choreographic processes emphasize physical scores, improvisation frameworks reminiscent of Contact Improvisation innovators, and dramaturgical approaches derived from Heiner Müller and Ariane Mnouchkine.
Core members include dancers, choreographers, composers, and visual artists recruited from networks around Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon, CNSAD, École des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, and international schools such as Juilliard School, Royal Academy of Dance, Codarts Rotterdam, and Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. Collaborators have included directors and performers connected to Olivier Py, Thomas Ostermeier, Claudia Castellucci, Katie Mitchell, Robert Lepage, and visual artists with links to JR, Marina Abramović, Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson, and Cildo Meireles. Production partners and presenters include Villa Médicis, Goethe-Institut, British Council, Conseil Régional Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and private foundations such as Fondation Cartier and Fondation Louis Vuitton.
Tours have taken the company to major circuits like Southbank Centre, Lincoln Center Festival, Festival d'Avignon, Festival de Cannes (Cinéfondation fringe), Sundance Film Festival (for film-dance projects), Viennale, Biennale Venice, Biennale de Lyon, Festival Internacional de Teatro de Bogotá, Performa, and Spoleto Festival USA. Engagements included curated seasons at Maison de la Danse, collaborations with choreographic biennales and cultural seasons backed by European Commission cultural programs and mobility funds administered through Creative Europe and bilateral exchanges with institutions such as Institut Français.
The company has been acknowledged by awards and honors associated with bodies like Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur-adjacent cultural prizes, and festival accolades from Festival d'Avignon juries, Les Victoires de la Musique Classique, Prix de la Critique, and international recognitions presented at Zurich Theatre Awards, The Off West End Awards, and European choreography prizes connected to Aerowaves Twenty lists and Bessie Awards-style commendations.
Educational activities have been developed in partnership with academic and training institutions such as Université Lyon 2, Université Lumière Lyon 2, ENSATT, Conservatoire de Paris, Maison des Arts, and community centers linked to Réseau Scènes Nationales and local cultural policies of Lyon Arrondissement governments. Outreach programs include workshops inspired by methods from Jacques Lecoq, interdisciplinary residencies in collaboration with museums and libraries such as Bibliothèque nationale de France, and participatory projects executed with youth ensembles and social partners associated with La Goutte d'Or initiatives.
Category:Contemporary dance companies