Artist Statement
Renaud works with the body and choreography as his main means of expression in a wide range of performative contexts. He is concerned with the role of the human body in our modern world, the erosion of its purpose amplified by a rapid rise in global automation and its value as a vehicle for emotions and non verbal communication. His work is known for its crafted physicality and intricate movement vocabulary.
Renaud often collaborates with artists from various artistic backgrounds, constructing multidisciplinary productions and investigating modes of co-authorship. Within his practice, as an independent artist and in the various collaborative formats he engages with, lies a concern for the role of the audience in public performances leading to the reconsideration of the relationship between performer and spectator, acknowledging that both are active partners in performance.
Biography
Renaud Wiser was born in Lausanne in 1979. A recipient of the Migros scholarship for young dancers, Renaud trained with the Ballet Junior in Geneva. After completing his training, he joined the Ballet du Grand Theatre de Genève before continuing his career as a dancer with the Ballet National de Marseille, The Gothenburg Ballet, Rambert and Bonachela Dance Company. Since 2010 Renaud performs as a freelance on selected projects. Renaud is the Artistic Director of Renaud Wiser Dance Company , a London based company created in 2013 and is a founder-member of New Movement Collective (nominee at the 2013 and 2014 National Critic Circle Awards and former associate company at Rambert). Twice commissioned by Dance City in Newcastle, his work (individual and collaborative) has been presented in key venues in the UK including Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis, the Southbank Centre, Dance City, DanceEast, Greenwich Dance, Pavilion Dance South West and Rich Mix as well as in festivals in France, Belgium, Poland, Latvia, Italy and Switzerland. A guest tutor at the Architectural Association – School of Architecture, Renaud has a particular interest in collaborative work and in merging practices with a rang of art forms including Architecture, Film, Music, Digital Art and Design. In 2018, Renaud created The Disappearing Act, a new work for his company and in 2019, he co-created Digital Umbilical with Body Intelligence Collective. Renaud is a former recipient of the Once Dance UK mentoring programme, took part in Dance East Rural retreat for future leaders in 2015 and is an associate artist at Swindon Dance. Since May 2018, Renaud is the new artistic co-director of Newcastle based company Fertile Ground.
Collaborative Ventures
Renaud collaborates with various companies on a range of projects alongside his independent work with Renaud Wiser Dance Company.
His main collaborative projects are with:
• New Movement Collective: a generation of dance artists collectively redefining the boundaries of choreography and performance through ambitious, cross-disciplinary work. With a long collaborative working history as creators and performers we have rapidly established a reputation for innovation, producing work that challenges theatrical orthodoxies and creatively responds to unconventional performance settings.
• Body Intelligence Collective: a group of artists, technologists and designers formed during the first Dansathon, a connected, collaborative, European event to explore the innovations which will contribute to shape the dance sector in the future. Together the won a research commission to develop Digital Umbilical, a dance performance exploring organic connection between individuals (dancer and audience member), and its amplification through the use of technology.
• Fertile Ground: the North East of England’s repertory touring dance company. Dedicated to talent development and retention in the North East and North of England our aim is to nurture, challenge and inspire a new generation of dance artists and to develop and present inspirational and accessible dance for the people of the North. Our vision is to help make the North East of England the place to dance.