I met music through cinema, at the age of seven. Layering music over what I see and feel became my way of relating to the world. My parents buy an organ. I learn the instrument. Very early on, I start composing — very simple pieces with pretentious titles. I write too, and I've never stopped. I learn the studio, which sends me toward audio advertising. Based in Lyon, France, I meet the young team multimedia developers Étranges Libellules and dive into the world of video games. I score the Astérix & Obélix XXL (1, 2 & 3), Kirikou, Arthur and the Invisibles, Pink Panther and Tintin franchises, among others. I get a taste of theatre as well. In the middle of all this, a great lifetime meetin opens up the world of contemporary dance to me. I see in it a film rewriting itself night after night, with physical commitment on top. I fall in love. I begin releasing work under the name LaForest and move into live performance. LaForest puts out two albums. I become a nomad: Europe, Africa, the United States. Choreographer Laurence Levasseur invites me to compose in the cold of circus tents, and introduces me to Germaine Acogny in the dust of the École des Sables, Senegal. For Germaine and choreographer Kota Yamazaki, I compose the score for "Fagaala". The piece is honoured with a Bessie Award in 2007, and seals a friendship and a 25-year collaboration with Madame Acogny. Back in France, I take part in founding Cie Hors Surface around two shows that I write and perform, and discover work for young audiences with Atelier Bonnetaille. Finally, to set my bags down for good, I create the collective LES FAUNES alongside the dancer Sébastien Cormier. There we stage LaForest Stereo (a music-and-dance duo), shoot the film "Rimanere" with video artist Alex Lopez, then "Les Chemins de l'Eau". We are currently touring the show BOWIE PERSPECTIVE and preparing FIEF, a choreographic adventure. Thirty years on, I'm still composing for dance — Common Ground(s) for the Pina Bausch