IN CONVERSATION WITH NICOLAS HUCHARD

interview JANA LETONJA

Nicolas Huchard is a trailblazing choreographer and movement director known for his emotionally driven “movement coaching” technique, shaped by his dual culture and global collaborations. He has worked with top artists like Madonna, Lady Gaga, Shay, Christine & the Queens, Yseult, Angèle and Aya Nakamura, and brought his signature style to major fashion houses including Saint Laurent, Gucci, Off White, Armani, Loewe and Jean Paul Gaultier. As founder of La Diva aux Pieds Nus, Nicolas continues to challenge norms, most recently by developing ‘Flamboyant’, a new show in pre-production stage that will explore masculinity through dance.

shirt ANN DEMEULEMEESTER

How would you describe your personal philosophy of movement, and how does it inform the way you approach both life and creation on a daily basis?

For me, movement isn’t about technique — it’s more like a breath. It’s what connects what’s happening inside with what’s happening outside, what’s invisible with what’s visible. It helps me stay in touch with what’s really going on in me, even when everything feels stuck or still. I’m not interested in how beautiful a movement looks, I care about whether it’s honest. Whether it says something real. That’s what guides me in my everyday life and in everything I create. I try to let the truth come through, even if it’s clumsy or fragile. For me, movement is a way of staying connected to the world around me.

Movement for you is more than choreography - it’s a way of being. How do you celebrate the “human aspect of movement” in your work and in everyday interactions?

I try to celebrate people as they are, with their contradictions, their bursts of energy, their hesitations. Movement allows me to express things that don’t always have words. There’s always something behind a small shake or a subtle shift — a story, a memory. In my work, I try to make sure the bodies I work with aren’t just visual shapes. They carry experiences, histories, even silences. And in daily life, I pay attention to small gestures — a glance that drops, a hand reaching out, a shoulder holding back. That’s where I feel the most human truth shows up.

Your style is unmistakable. In what ways do your influences - whether cultural, emotional, or artistic - shape your unique movement language?

My body carries all the stories I’ve lived and inherited. In my movement, you’ll find the rhythms of my childhood, the quiet from certain wounds, the loud joy of reconnecting with people or places. My influences come from everywhere, the street, club dancing, rituals, the women in my family, sleepless nights, poetry. I’m not trying to create a “style” really. I just want to be fully present with whatever I’m feeling, bringing in everything I’ve lived and everything I am. If what I do feels unique, it’s probably because I’m not trying to please. I’m just trying to say something true.

full look DRIES VAN NOTTEN

shoes EYTYS

Flamboyant, your next show, is still in its early stages. What motivated you to start imagining a piece around masculinity at this moment?

I think I’ve been circling around this topic for a long time without directly facing it. What pushed me, honestly, was a kind of tiredness, the feeling of having to fit into a role or match some image that doesn’t quite fit. I wanted to open up a space where men, or people who’ve been told they’re supposed to be men, could express themselves differently. ‘Flamboyant’ isn’t a show about masculinity in a fixed way. It’s about showing the layers, the cracks, the sparks. It’s also a way for me to reconnect with parts of myself I’ve kept hidden for too long.

How are you beginning to think about challenging or reimagining traditional ideas of masculinity in ‘Flamboyant’, even as the concept is still evolving?

I’m starting with a body that’s been taught to stay in line, to be upright, tight, silent. And little by little, I’m letting that body open up. I’m not trying to attack masculinity directly, but to reveal what’s usually not shown – the vulnerability, the hesitations, the desires that have been buried. I’m imagining fragile solos, unexpected duets, groups of people still figuring each other out. I want to let different versions of masculinity appear, ones that are softer, freer, more fluid. ‘Flamboyant‘ is about letting something new come through, something that doesn’t have to fit in a box.

The show is currently in pre-production, with auditions underway and partnerships still being sought. What does the creative process look like at this fragile, foundational stage?

It’s a really vulnerable but exciting moment. You have to accept that things are uncertain. Ideas come and go, some fall apart, some surprise you. I stay very open, very alert to whatever might pop up. I listen a lot, observe, take notes, let my thoughts wander. Sometimes a single conversation or a simple movement can suddenly feel like material for the stage. It’s not really about building something just yet, it’s more like planting seeds. And for me, this early, invisible stage is where the real core of the show starts to grow.

full look VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

shoes ADIDAS X WILLY CHAVARRIA

Are there emotional tones or movement motifs you're already exploring to express the tension, vulnerability, or freedom tied to this theme - even before full rehearsals have begun?

I’m already playing with the idea of internal tension, like gestures that want to come out but get held back. There are little tremors, breaks in the lines, movements that don’t quite follow through. For me, vulnerability often shows up in those moments where something almost happens, but doesn’t — where the body struggles to stand tall. And underneath that, there’s this quiet drive toward freedom. Movements that open up, soften, release. I’m trying to find a balance between control and impulse, like an inner dance between what we’ve been taught to be and what we quietly wish we could be.

How might the identities and personal stories of the dancers you’re casting help shape the emotional architecture of ‘Flamboyant’?

Each dancer brings their own world with them. I’m not looking for people to just perform. I want people who bring their history, their doubts, their background into the process. Their personal stories are just as important as my own ideas. I want ‘Flamboyant’ to be full of different voices, different lives. I want the bodies on stage to feel like mirrors, like echoes, like forms of resistance too. The real piece will take shape through the meeting of what I imagine and what they offer. Their truth is the raw material.

Your work is deeply rooted in your dual culture and diverse encounters. How do you foresee ‘Flamboyant’ drawing from or expanding on those personal dimensions?

I grew up between two worlds, and for a long time I thought I had to choose between them. Now I know that the richness comes from that in-between space. ‘Flamboyant’ is definitely shaped by that. There will be sounds, colors, and gestures from traditions I inherited, even if I didn’t always fully understand them. And there will be things that feel more urban, more raw, more present-day. I want to bring those different layers together, sometimes even let them clash. But mostly, I want to reconcile them. This show is a way of saying that we can belong to more than one world without losing ourselves.

You’ve collaborated with major fashion houses and music icons. How do those past experiences inform your early vision for the staging, costuming, or atmosphere of this upcoming show?

Working in fashion taught me how powerful details can be, how much a piece of fabric or the shape of a cut can express. Music taught me how to play with rhythm and sensation. Those experiences definitely shaped the way I think about the stage. For ‘Flamboyant’, I want the costumes to tell a story — to show change, tension, or release. I want a scenography that breathes, something that can feel both safe and wide open. And I want the atmosphere to blur things, somewhere between dream and reality, softness and rawness. Every visual choice should support the story of the body, never overpower it.

CREDITS

talent NICOLAS HUCHARD 

photography MARCUS SABBAH

styling JILL GATTEGNO

grooming MUA SEBAS CATALAN

endorsing CREATIVE PRODUCTION RÉDA AIT

special thanks to LA ROTONDE