Beaux Gestes

Beaux Gestes: the body as a language of the sensitive

Every December, the CENTQUATRE-PARIS hosts Beaux Gestes, a multidisciplinary festival that places the body at the center of attention. For two weeks, dance, literature, circus, virtual reality, and visual arts combine to question gesture as a language of the sensitive, a mirror of identity, and an affirmation of freedom.

A co-production by CENTQUATRE-PARIS and L'Oréal

Beaux Gestes is co-produced by CENTQUATRE-PARIS and L'Oréal, bringing together a leading cultural institution and a patron committed to supporting contemporary creation. This unique alliance allows the festival to offer an ambitious program and make demanding artistic forms accessible.

Dance, circus, literature, and virtual reality

The Beaux Gestes program boldly mixes disciplines. Contemporary dance performances by internationally renowned choreographers — Marlene Monteiro Freitas and Israel Galván, Lia Rodrigues, Raphaëlle Delaunay, Arno Schuitemaker — are presented alongside circus pieces by Marion Collé and Cie 14:20, virtual reality installations, and an exhibition combining video and installation. Literary meetings and debates on the body complete the program.

Free participatory workshops

Beaux Gestes stands out for its free participatory workshops open to all audiences. Movement, body expression, dance, and circus are offered throughout the festival, allowing everyone to experience gesture and the body in an artistic approach guided by professionals.

The body in all its states

The festival questions beauty through the prism of the moving body and gesture: the sensitive body, its emotions, its vibrations; the physical and social body; the question of otherness and generosity. Each creation presented explores a different facet of embodiment, making the body a manifesto of freedom.