Artistic direction

Biography of the artistic director

Charles-Alexis Desgagnés is a multidisciplinary choreographer, creator, dancer and performer based in Montreal. Self-taught and curious, he evolves in the fields of dance, improvisation, cinema and teaching. A queer artist recognized for his embodied strength and sensitivity, he develops an artistic vision whose heart is human. His company, Personne danse, whose name echoes his career away from the big schools and his desire to bring together and celebrate atypical careers, is defined by a look more focused on uniqueness and vulnerability.

A unifier, he collaborates with many stage and image artists; technicians and arts professionals who share a circular approach and whom he wishes to highlight just as much as the performers who participate in his creations. His journey led him to train between New York, Toronto, Quebec and Montreal, and to work with big names such as Harold Rhéaume, Tedd Robinson, Riley Sims, Chantal Caron, Ismaël Mouaraki, Kyra Jean Green, Samuel Tétreault or Peter Jasko again. He also collaborates with circus companies such as Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Éloize and The 7 Fingers.

Finalist of the Revolution show in 2018, Charles-Alexis saw this opportunity as a way to popularize contemporary dance to the general public. At the same time, he presented in a self-directed way the work Mue érablewith 28 performers, which he transformed into a solo and presented at the Festival Quartiers Danses the following year. In 2022, his self-directed group piece  J'ai pleuré ce matin dans le métrobrough together 23 performers of different levels on the stage of the Maison de la culture in Verdun as part of a summer program. He recently presented  Le chuchotement des limbes, a work created especially for the 2023 graduates of the École de danse de Québec.

Currently, he is working on the post-production of a solo short film titled La Peau de l'autrewith the director Vincent René-Lortie and he is developing a 55-minute solo work for the scene entitled  The call of the embers. The latter will be presented by the Agora de la danse in Montreal in October 2023 as a world premiere. Charles-Alexis is represented by the Agence Spinnhirny and is accompanied by Avec Sheila in terms of image and media relations.