First imagined in 2010 by Boris Charmatz, director of the Musée de la Danse in Rennes (2009-2018) and the Terrain dance company, and Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota, director of the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, with support from the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, Danse élargie is open to artists of all disciplines and nationalities via an online call for projects. Twenty or so finalists are selected among the hundreds of applicants to perform on the stage of the Théâtre de la Ville in front of a panel of international artists and an enthusiastic audience over a weekend in June. The rules of the competition are at once simple and original: a minimum of three performers, working in any mode of artistic expression, for a maximum of ten minutes.
While the prize winners receive a financial award, every finalist receives support to raise the profile of their work. In September of the year following the competition, “Danse Élargie, La Suite : Focus Jeunes Chorégraphes" is organised by the Théâtre de la Ville. This initiative, which is similarly supported by the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès, gives a selection of artists the opportunity to perform their work in professional conditions, opening the season at the Théâtre des Abbesses.
