Captivated by dance, Dimitri Chamblas joined the Paris Opera’s celebrated dance school at the age of ten. During his career, he notably collaborated with creators such as Jean-Paul Gaultier and Karl Lagerfeld, composer Heiner Goebbels, artists Christian Boltanski, Andy Goldsworthy, Dan Colen, Xavier Veilhan, choreographers William Forsythe, Boris Charmatz, Lil Buck, Mathilde Monnier, Benjamin Millepied. His work has been performed in venues such as the Tate Modern (London), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (Los Angeles), the Paris Opera, St Mark’s Church (New York), among others.
In 1992, Chamblas was co-founder of EDNA with choreographer Boris Charmatz. Together they conceived performances, organized events and exhibitions, and published books. Their duet “A bras le Corps” has been performed on every continent in world-renowned theatres and festivals. This duet has been part of the Paris Opera ballet repertory since 2017.
In 1996, he created the “research and writing residence” with Mathilde Monnier (at that time Director of the Centre Chorégraphique National in Montpellier, France), an opportunity for artists to create personal creative space outside of the traditional production process.
In 2013, as digital curator, he invented “Mutant Stage” together with curator and producer Amélie Couillaud: a series of ten art films for the French Lafayette Anticipations – Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette, all shot in the building designed by OMA / Rem Koolhaas.
In 2014, Dimitri Chamblas was appointed artistic director of the Paris Opera’s 3rd Stage. He founded this creative digital platform in collaboration with Benjamin Millepied, and invited artists such as Glen Keane, Xavier Veilhan, Bret Easton Ellis, Julien Prévieux, William Forsythe, Rubber Legz, United Visual Artists, Lil Buck, Barbara Hanigan and Jonas Kaufmann to create original artworks inspired by the Paris Opera.
Always curious about technological advances and their possible applications, he joined forces with the Google cultural institute in 2015 to create the first immersive dance film captured in 360-degree vision, based on an original dance piece choreographed by Benjamin Millepied.
In 2017, he launched Studio Dimitri Chamblas in Paris and Los Angeles, a structure that hosts all of his projects and collaborations, including a duet with the étoile dancer Marie-Agnès Gillot, his participation in the creation of Boris Charmatz’s “10 000 Gestures”, a creation with architect François Perrin for the Performa Biennale in New York, and a duet with artist and musician Kim Gordon.
That same year, he became the new Dean of Dance at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Los Angeles and created “HHUMANN”, a work performed by 75 dancers in the streets of Downtown Los Angeles and at the Hauser & Wirth Gallery.
In 2018/2019, Dimitri Chamblas created “Slow Show” a 50-performer choreography and “Los Angeles” a solo done in collaboration with painter Claire Tabouret and dancer Spenser Therberge. They have been performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), REDCAT and Mak Center, Schindler house (all Los Angeles), as well as at the LUMA Foundation in Arles.
In June 2019, as part of the LA Philharmonics programme, Chamblas directed “Crowd out”, an opera by David Lang performed by 1,000 singers at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
In 2019, he was made a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture.