Des Chimères dans la Tête is a whimsical multimedia dance piece that brings childhood fantasies to life. Three dancers play hide-and-seek behind a floating screen, their limbs morphing into claws, wings, and tentacles—all while animated illustrations of imaginary creatures dance across the projection. A collaboration between choreographer Sylvain Groud, visual artist Françoise Pétrovitch, and filmmaker Hervé Plumet, this playful show blurs the line between movement and illusion. Stick around after the show for a surprise interactive dance party (first and last performances only).

PRESENTATION

Des Chimères dans la tête dives deep into the wild, unfiltered imagination of childhood, blending visual art and choreography into something mesmerizing.

Three dancers lurk behind a floating screen, defying gravity as limbs—arms, legs, hands—poke through, morphing into paws, wings, antennae. They bring to life the chimeras sketched on the screen, stepping out of the frame to dance freely, turning ink and paper into living, breathing creatures.

The show swings between dreamlike wonder, playful nightmares, and bursts of humor, playing tricks on the eyes and pulling the audience into a game of illusions they’ve never seen before.

STATEMENT OF INTENT

This project is the brainchild of choreographer Sylvain Groud, visual artist Françoise Pétrovitch, and audiovisual creator Hervé Plumet. It’s the second collaboration between Groud and Pétrovitch, following Adolescent (2019), a piece that plunged into the chaotic energy of teenage years.

Des Chimères dans la tête is all about the boundless imagination of kids—what they see, what adults miss. The dream of watching drawings leap off the page? That’s the magic this performance delivers.

SETUP

A rectangular screen hangs center stage, projections of chimeras—monstrous, beautiful, otherworldly—flickering to life. Behind it, three dancers contort, their limbs appearing as extensions of the creatures on screen. Paws, wings, eyes—then, suddenly, the figures break free, dancing in real space.

The result? A whirlwind of fantasy, darkness, and laughs, playing with perception and pulling the audience into its surreal world.

BIOGRAPHY

SYLVAIN GROUD (Artistic Director & Choreographer)
A grad of Paris’ CNSMD, Groud cut his teeth with Gigi Caciuleanu and Angelin Preljocaj before launching his own company, MAD, creating over 30 pieces. Now at Ballet du Nord, he’s known for interactive works like Let’s Move! and collaborations with videographer Léonard Barbier-Hourdin (Symbiose, réveil sur le terril). Recent pieces include 4m2 (a pandemic-era work staged everywhere from schools to nursing homes) and the duets L’autre and Lorsque l’enfant était enfant.

FRANÇOISE PÉTROVITCH (Visual Artist)
Since the ’90s, Pétrovitch’s work—ceramics, ink washes, video—has blurred boundaries, mixing intimacy with unease. Her solo shows span France and beyond, with retrospectives at the Bibliothèque nationale de France and a groundbreaking Louvre-Lens exhibit. She’s known for massive wall drawings (Centre Pompidou, Shanghai’s West Bund Museum) and her Adolescent collab with Groud.

HERVÉ PLUMET (Director, Photographer)
An applied arts grad turned photographer/director, Plumet’s work spans cultural projects (Musée du Jouet, Manufacture de Sèvres) and advocacy films (LICRA, Abbé Pierre Foundation). His collabs with Pétrovitch include ECHO (MACVAL) and book projects like Mes familiers and Ne rien oublier.