Jann Gallois studied classical music for 10 years before discovering a passion for hip-hop dance in 2004. That was the starting point for a successful career as a dancer with such leading choreographers as Sylvain Groud, Sébastien Lefrançois, Angelin Preljocaj and Wang Ramirez. In 2012, she choreographed her first piece. At the age of just 20, she founded her company, Cie BurnOut, and created P=mg, a solo work that won nine international awards, including the Prix Paris Jeune Talent.
Jann Gallois swiftly made her mark and formed her signature by moving away from hip-hop conventions. She created Diagnostic F20.9 (another solo piece), earning her the ‘Best Hope of the Year’ award from the German magazine Tanz, in 2015.
She then created the duo Compact and the trio Carte Blanche in 2016 and wrote her first group piece, Quintette, in 2017. Since September 2017, she has been an associate artist at Chaillot-Théâtre national de la Danse and the Maison de la Danse de Lyon. The BNP Paribas Foundation has supported her creative work since 2017.
"Dance is the pure expression of the soul. […] To me, choreography is a song of the body, visual and graphic" Jann Gallois - Cie Burnout
Dance is the pure expression of the soul. To me, choreography is a song of the body, visual and graphic.
Excerpts from Compact and Diagnostic F20.9
BNP Paribas envisage de porter sa participation dans Exane jusqu'à 100%*
"Compact" de Jann Gallois - Teaser - Théâtre de Chaillot
Created in 2016, the duo set the following challenge as its starting point: close continuous contact between two bodies, hers and that of dancer Rafael Smadja. The “physicality” of this piece is permeated by softness, sliding and harmony.
"Diagnostic F20.9" de Jann Gallois - Théâtre de Chaillot
Halfway between dance and theatre, this solo work examines the complexity of psychological disorders through a specific illness: schizophrenia. In this piece Jann Gallois explores the troubled coexistence between body and mind.
Using bodies to reveal truths, translating in gesture what might look abstract, the complex link between body and mind, or how bodies can move through each other, are among the reflections that shape her work.
Her language
Contemporary dance and hip-hop: “Hip-hop was my gateway to dance, though I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a hip-hop choreographer. I don’t have all the codes. It doesn’t matter; so much the better. We all change.” Source : Culturebox
Her sources of inspiration
The choreographer’s interest in science, especially physics and chemistry, also shapes her creations; her first solo piece, P=mg, experiments with gravity, which in her hands resonates with psychological weight and proposes to transcend it, turning burdens into springboards.
She finds this quote by Yogi B.KS. Iyengar particularly inspiring: “The whole point is learning how to make the body not an obstacle, but the key to its self-realisation.” Source: Cie burnout
Photos header ©Jody Carter - ©Laurent-Paillier