La Briqueterie opened its doors in March 2013. It is home to the CDCN/Centre de Développement Chorégraphique National du Val-de-Marne, one of the 12 dance organisations that currently make up the national network of CDCNs in France. While the venue is young, the organisation – formerly known as Biennale de danse du Val-de-Marne – dates back to 1979 and was officially incorporated in 1980.
The building was renovated by architect Philippe Prost thanks to the support of the Departmental Council of Val-de-Marne, the French State, and the Ile-de-France Region.
Its annual ongoing programme comprises residencies, studio showings, commissions and co-productions, EU-funded collaborative projects, masterclasses, workshops and an international exchange programme. It organises Les Plateaux (an annual 3-day festival for national and international companies open to professionals and the larger public) and an international dance Biennale (in partnership with over 30 venues, including regional theatres, museums and other organisations). The Biennale reaches over 11,000 people across the Ile de France region.
Since 2003, La Briqueterie has been publishing a dedicated dance magazine, Repères, cahier de danse, available also on the online publishing platform Cairn. Recently, it as launched a new “screen dance” initiative in collaboration with the International Video Dance Festival of Burgundy and Cinema Utopia.