Josette Baïz

For thirty years, Josette Baïz has brought children and teenagers from a wide range of backgrounds to dance in shows that are as generous as they are demanding, constantly renewing herself through her creations and artistic collaborations with choreographers of international renown.

Trained by Odile Duboc, Josette Baïz, then a dancer with Jean-Claude Gallotta, won 1st prize at the 14th Bagnolet International Choreography Competition and went on to found her first company, La Place Blanche.

In 1989, when the Ministry of Culture offered her a residency in a school in the northern suburbs of Marseille, she was confronted with new forms of dance such as break dance, hip-hop and ethnic dances, which led her to fundamentally rethink her artistic approach. Around thirty of these young dancers went on to form Groupe Grenade.

Together they invented a unique and original language, the Grenade Style, blending entrechats and hip-hop phases with a wide range of dances from world cultures.

The success of her first shows confirmed Josette Baïz in her desire to develop an increasingly advanced technique, broadening the training of her dancers to include other techniques and classical dance. When they came of age, some of the dancers gradually joined the professional company, created in 1998, while others continued their training at prestigious schools and conservatoires or joined other dance companies.

Over the years, Groupe Grenade has opened up to new artistic and choreographic collaborations, performing works by Eun-Me Ahn, Jérôme Bel, Dominique Bagouet, Lucinda Childs and Philippe Découflé, Jean-Claude Gallotta, Damien Jalet, Michel Kelemenis, Akram Khan, Abou Lagraa, (LA)HORDE, Jean-Christophe Maillot, Barak Marshall, Wayne McGregor, Angelin Preljocaj, Crystal Pite, Alban Richard, Hofesh Shechter, Wim Vandekeybus…

Grenade is now considered to be an international choreographic centre for young people based in Aix-en-Provence.
The choreographic ensemble brings together 90 dancers, divided between the Groupe Grenade (70 children and teenagers aged 7 to 18) and the Compagnie Grenade (around 20 adult professionals).
In the Aix-en-Provence studios, Josette Baïz and her team of teachers and dancers offer open classes from the age of 4, as well as a wide range of workshops and courses for local and national audiences (schoolchildren, amateurs and professionals).