Frédéric Gies
Frédéric Gies is a dancer and choreographer based in Malmö, Sweden. Oscillating between clockwork composition and the intensities and chaos generated by dancing bodies surrendering to the desires and forces that traverse them, Frédéric Gies’ dance pieces bring to the forefront the capacity of dance to speak without having to demonstrate or represent anything.
Drawing from their former training in ballet, their encounter with specific trends of contemporary dance at the beginning of the 90s, their dance floor experiences in techno clubs and raves and their study of somatic practices, Frédéric Gies approaches form as possibilities rather than constraints. Their dances weld forms seemingly foreign to each other, recycle and pervert dance history and heritages. They playfully collapse the distinction and hierarchies between erudite and popular forms of dance. Their pieces also address politics in a non-representational way. In their pieces, bodies as the instigators of movement don’t reinforce identities but excavate the complexity of their layers.
Frédéric Gies’ work is also tightly connected to techno music and infused with references to clubbing and rave cultures. This is widely enabled by their long-term collaboration with the DJ and producer Fiedel. They started their career as a dancer beginning of the 90s in France, where they danced with choreographers such as Daniel Larrieu, Olivia Grandville, Jean-François Duroure, Bernard Glandier and Christophe Haleb. During this period, they started creating their first pieces, in collaboration with other dancers (Odile Seitz, Frédéric de Carlo). In 2004, they moved to Berlin and in 2006, they created the piece Dance (Praticable), which encountered an international success. During their Berlin period, they also collaborated with other choreographers (Alice Chauchat, Isabelle Schad, Manuel Pelmus, Jefta van Dinther, DD Dorvillier). As they moved to Sweden in 2014, they initiated their work with techno music and started to develop and share their practice Technosomatics. They also briefly danced for Cristina Caprioli, as well as Ania Nowak. Since 1996, they have created more than 30 performances, including commissions by Weld Company, DDSKS and Corpus. They present their works locally, regionally, nationally and internationally in various contexts, including dance venues and festivals, music festivals and museums (amongst others: Weld, Inkonst, Skogen, Dansens Hus, Impulstanz, CTM festival, Sophiensaele, Serralves, Roskilde festival, RAS, Moving in November, Wanås, Zürich Moves, La Casa Encendida, Art Stations Foundation...). So far, they have presented their work in 21 countries. They have also a long history of teaching in various contexts (SNDO, HZT, TEAK, Ponderosa, DDSKS, Impulstanz...). Between 2012 and 2018, they directed the MA in choreography at DOCH-SKH. Together with Anne Juren, they were mentor for danceWEB at Impulstanz in 2021.