Dance Spaces: FAIR-E Collective – CCN Rennes and Brittany

Known as the Théâtre Chorégraphique de Rennes et de Bretagne when it was inaugurated in 1978, it was first led by renowned Romanian artist Gigi Caciuleanu. The arrival of new co-directors Catherine Diverrès and Bernardo Montet in 1993 brought with it a new name and the label of CCN, which made it part of a national network of 19 arts centers across France that foster the production and touring of new choreography. When choreographer Boris Charmatz took over the space in 2009, he created the Museum of Dance, meant to preserve and showcase the art of movement.  

2019 marked a profound, innovative shift for the center: it was the first time hip-hop artists were given creative control of the institution, and there were eight of them: Bouzid Aït Atmane, Iffra Dia, Céline Gallet, Linda Hayford, Saïdo Lehlouh, Marion Poupinet, Johanna Faye (who departed in 2023), and Ousmane Sy (who passed away in 2020). This group, known as the FAIR-E Collective (its name a play on the English word “fair” and the French word “faire,” meaning “to do”) has a unique style of shared artistic direction – allowing each choreographer the freedom to create performances individually, while bringing them together to manage the organisation and further their joint mission of supporting up-and-coming hip-hop artists furthering urban dance culture.  

In this new episode of the “Dance spaces” series, Linda Hayford, Saïdo Lehlouh, Marion Poupinet and Iffra Dia tell us how they have transformed this institution according to their convictions and the needs of a field that had long been marginalized. They guide us through a tour of the two CCN buildings: St Melaine, in the center of Rennes, and Le Garage, in the city’s suburbs, where the future of hip-hop dance is being written.