Founded in 2003 by hip hop dancer Franck Guizonne and Céline Mousseau, and joined by Marie Houdin in 2004, Engrenage[s] spent its early years developing work around hip hop dance and funk styles, at the intersection of choreographic creation and territorial anchoring. In 2017, a major restructuring transformed it into a generator of artistic projects: a production structure and workshop organisation built around a single thread—groove.

Funk, hip hop, New Orleans culture, afrobeat, exotica, brass bands: the projects led by Engrenage[s] share the same African-American cultural matrix while refusing to fix its boundaries. Choreographic and musical creations, brass bands, participatory devices in public space, and original festive formats: around twenty projects are currently supported, ranging from occasional accompaniment to full support from creation through to touring.

Since 2012, Engrenage[s] has been designing and co-producing its own events in partnership with cities, festivals, and cultural structures. Le Funk Prend les Rennes, Soul Train Line, and New Orléans Fever, conceived by Marie Houdin, are festive and participatory gatherings that turn groove into a space of encounter and transmission, both in performance venues and in everyday urban spaces.

A guiding conviction runs through all of this: groove culture—popular, collective, physical, and festive—belongs as much in demanding artistic projects as in ordinary spaces. These two horizons are not mutually exclusive.

Engrenage[s] is based in Rennes.