Ghyslaine Gau

After completing studies in music and dance at the ENM of Cergy-Pontoise, Ghyslaine Gau obtained a dance diploma (D.E.) from the CREPS of Montpellier in 1994. In 1998, she joined the training program at the Montpellier National Choreographic Center (CCN) under the direction of Mathilde Monnier. At the same time, she began a long-term collaboration with Anne Lopez (les gens du quai company), both as a performer and by conducting research workshops with marginalized communities.

Her first choreographic work, Rose revolver, is a responsive solo that explores themes of women, struggle, and resistance. Between 2003 and 2006, she deepened her research on feminism through the project Femmeuses actions by Cécile Proust.

In 2012, she met Anna Halprin and performed in the final reprise of Parades and Changes alongside her at the Berkeley Museum. Around the same time, she collaborated with director Pauline Tanon and musician Patrice Soletti for the creation of Aux arbres citoyens!, based on texts by the anarchist poet Armand Gatti. This collaboration inspired her to initiate further projects linking text, voice, speech, and movement. She has also worked as a performer with Fabrice Ramaligom, Séverine Rième, Anne Collod, Alexandre Roccoli, David Wampach, and Mette Ingvarsten.

In 2015, Ghyslaine Gau was awarded the “Hors les murs” grant by the Institut Français and began the research project Which bodies seen from here? From memory to movement. This project serves as a space for research and creation centered on her experiences as a Black woman and dancer, aiming to connect different fields of investigation and to allow multiple artistic and performative forms to emerge.

— Interview with Ghyslaine Gau, Ana Pi, and Annabel Guérédrat, conducted by Noëmie Charrié as part of the 2021-2022 season: to read (in French) IHEREI