Supporting actions in favor of artistic creation and dissemination, guaranteeing access to culture for as many people as possible, encouraging digital creation, promoting the Art Deco heritage of Chaillot-Théâtre National de la Danse, these are the missions of the Chaillot Foundation, housed by the Fondation de France, chaired by Laurent Martinet and which celebrated its first anniversary last May.

To financially support its work, and following the success of the first edition in November 2024, the foundation is organizing a second gala dinner on Tuesday, November 18. On this occasion, we met Pierre Lungheretti.

The French Touch: The Chaillot Foundation aims to support projects and actions in favor of artistic creation. Can you tell us more?

Pierre Lungheretti: Our scope is deployed in several axes: creation, through the productions and co-productions that we can implement, but also that which the Chaillot theater can host, in the sense of diversity. The foundation notably finances the Chaillot Experience, these two-day, themed mini-festivals that we do almost every month (the Chaillot Experience allows the public to discover dance from a new angle, by encouraging participation, interaction and access to original works, editor's note), we also have the desire to promote artistic creation, in a multidisciplinary perspective. In this sense, we open dance, we make it a welcoming discipline towards other disciplines or artistic practices.
Social integration through culture is an equally crucial axis. This is reflected in the educational aspect and mediation, which we put in place for young people, among other things.

There is also the digital dimension: we are in the prefiguration of a new entity, Chaillot Augmentée (Chaillot Augmentée is an initiative proposed by the Théâtre national de la Danse, which aims to fully integrate digital technologies such as virtual reality, interactive devices or immersive capture into the artistic experience, editor's note).

The international aspect is also key for us, the foundation aims to promote Chaillot's activities internationally, both the tours that Rachid Ouramdane (French choreographer and dancer recognized for his commitment to artistic innovation and cultural diversity, who currently holds the position of director of Chaillot – Théâtre National de la Danse, editor's note) organizes and which tour across five continents.

And finally, the promotion and preservation of Chaillot's Art Deco heritage, which is also part of the foundation's social purpose.

Chaillot - National Dance Theater

FT: How does the foundation serve these strategic issues?

PL: The foundation provides financial support, a driving force that will enable us to carry out these highly strategic development projects. The goal is to successfully bring together new partners and financiers for these projects, and for certain projects. For example, the renovations to the main hall, which is scheduled to reopen in 2027. And new workspaces, including a rehearsal space under the stands. This is a new step, which will strengthen Chaillot as a creative tool and generate a much larger production force.

The foundation therefore represents new resources. But it also represents a collective, made up of businesses and individuals, which connects us to civil society and enriches our strategic thinking regarding the Chaillot project, based on hospitality and diversity. These two aspects are invaluable when leading such a project.

FT: How do you manage to reconcile the preservation of the historical heritage of Chaillot – Théâtre National de la Danse, your desire for hospitality, sharing and openness to new audiences that you bring with Rachid Ouramdane?

PL: All of this resonates. This heritage has a history and carries strong symbolic value. It is part of the 1937 World's Fair, which showcased the innovations of the time and still conveys a message of modernity today. Through its preservation, we want to preserve what it meant at the time to have a building that was highly innovative in its proportions, its function, and its location opposite the Eiffel Tower. We also want to preserve its history, remembering, for example, that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed there in 1948. This heritage may seem intimidating to some audiences, but we also want to create the conditions and tools for its appropriation.

On the dimension of opening up to young people, for example, numerous initiatives led by the Chaillot reception and hospitality department have already been set up, such as the Chaillot Colo (artistic holiday camps organized for children and adolescents throughout the country and abroad, editor's note). We have organized them in Martinique, French Guiana, Mayotte (postponed due to cyclone Chido), in the South and Grand-Est regions, in Île-de-France, with the Ateliers Médicis in Clichy-Montfermeil... and also in Chaillot, so that young people can also take ownership of this heritage and discover the Colline des Arts, a culturally very rich environment for young people who are often far removed from culture. We also created the Youth Council in Chaillot, a group of 30 young people between 18 and 25 years old to whom we allocate a budget so that they can carry out actions and put forward proposals to better address people of their generation.

In terms of social integration, for example, we implement territorial twinning, to avoid being solely focused on the Parisian location but also to spread dance in French territories experiencing social and economic fragility. We have also launched a program, in partnership with the Culture & Diversity Foundation, which involves middle and high schools in Île-de-France and the Centre-Val-de-Loire region. This involves an artistic and cultural education program, with practical workshops and a spectator program. We also work with stakeholders in the social field (Aurore, Groupe SOS, etc.) to create paths to dance, as a spectator or as an amateur dancer.

FT: On the international dimension, what is the foundation's strategy for developing partnerships and positioning French dance on the world stage, while welcoming the international scene to France?

PL: Our international action is based on four pillars: cooperation, hosting companies, the Chaillot Experience and tours of Rachid Ouramdane's works, thanks to which the Chaillot company travels to five continents.

We currently have two cooperation partnerships, with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with which we are developing creative, training, artistic and cultural education aspects, and where we have also organized Chaillot Colo. We are also initiating a partnership with Tunisia and the Ness El Fen company, and the transmission of a piece by Rachid Ouramdane, Tenir le temps, to the Ballet of the Tunis Opera. We regularly welcome major companies such as Batsheva, an Israeli company, or Lucinda Childs, an American company, and many other international companies. Regarding the Chaillot Experience, we have dedicated several to international territories: Algeria, Australia, Rwanda, Brazil as part of the France-Brazil season...

The foundation is therefore also a vector of international links because through these actions, we introduce the public to other artistic scenes.

FT: What challenges do you think the foundation will have to face in order to remain relevant and innovative?

PL: One of the foundation's main challenges will be to continue opening up to new members and donors, and we're working hard on that. We're also working to diversify our membership, to include both businesses and individual patrons who can be major donors, as well as small shareholders. It's important to have a true think tank alongside us, a diversity of patrons, profiles, perspectives, and personalities that greatly enriches the exchange and reflections.

Opening up internationally is obviously a priority. We want to continue developing our ties, particularly with China and the United States. To this end, we're also counting on the Fondation de France (the main French philanthropic organization, founded in 1969, editor's note), which houses the Chaillot Foundation. This opens doors for us and allows us to meet various international patrons.

France is a very strong international reference in dance; it has a very important role to play, in terms of excellence in dance and attractiveness in cultural matters. And Chaillot is a French national institution, the only one of the five national theaters dedicated to dance. The international outreach of the Chaillot Foundation is therefore essential.

FT: Can you tell us about the gala dinner you are organizing on Tuesday, November 18, 2025?

PL: This gala dinner is an important moment for the Chaillot Foundation. We hope this evening will reflect the artistic and cultural ecosystem and the values ​​we promote: diversity, integration, and dance as a vehicle for emancipation and social transformation. It's a moment of festive sharing between future patrons, our current patrons, our founding members, the Foundation's Executive Board, and more. It's also an opportunity to raise awareness of the Chaillot Foundation on a wider scale.