# Francesca Jaynes

Francesca Jaynes (born 12 October 1958) is an English choreographer and movement director who works in many disciplines within the entertainment industry, including feature films, theatre and commercials.

## Early career

Jaynes trained at the Bush Davies School of Theatre Arts, and danced professionally for several years before suffering a serious injury that led to a transition into choreography. Following several years choreographing musical stage acts, she began working in UK television in 1982 and a career in film began in 1999 with Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy, earning her a nomination in the American Choreography Awards.

## Film and television

Jaynes' work in feature film covers a period of three decades and multiple genres, including costume drama (The Duchess, Great Expectations), family (Dumbo, Muppets Most Wanted, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), science fiction (Gravity, A.I. Artificial Intelligence), fantasy (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Clash of the Titans), and music-based drama (De-Lovely, Topsy-Turvy).
Her television credits include work with Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman in Roald Dahl's Esio Trot for the BBC, as well as programmes such as Quiz by James Graham, Foyle's War, Agatha Christie's Marple, The Virgin Queen, and Tipping the Velvet.

### Film and television credits

| Year Released | Title | Production Company | Director |
| 2022 | Enola Holmes 2 | Legendary Entertainment | Harry Bradbeer |
| 2022 | House of the Dragon | HBO | Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel |
| 2021 | Black Widow | Marvel Studios | Cate Shortland |
| 2020 | Quiz | Left Bank Pictures | Stephen Frears |
| 2019 | Dumbo | Walt Disney Pictures | Tim Burton |
| 2019 | The Spanish Princess | STARZ | Birgitte Staermose |
| 2019 | Traitors | Twenty Twenty Television | Dearbhla Walsh |
| 2018 | A Very English Scandal | Amazon Studios / BBC | Stephen Frears |
| 2017 | Breathe | The Imaginarium Studios | Andy Serkis |
| 2017 | Will | TNT Drama | Shekhar Kapur |
| 2016 | Allied | Paramount Pictures | Robert Zemeckis |
| 2016 | Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children | Tim Burton Productions/Chernin Entertainment | Tim Burton |
| 2016 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | Walt Disney Pictures | James Bobin |
| 2015 | Pinewood: 80 Years of Movie Magic | BBC | John Hodgson |
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Marvel Studios | Joss Whedon |
| 2015 | Roald Dahl's Esio Trot – TV | BBC/Endor Productions | Dearbhla Walsh |
| 2014 | Muppets Most Wanted | Walt Disney Pictures | James Bobin |
| 2013 | Gravity | Warner Brothers Pictures | Alfonso Cuaron |
| 2013 | The Invisible Woman | Magnolia Mae Films | Ralph Fiennes |
| 2012 | Great Expectations | Number 9 Films Ltd | Mike Newell |
| 2010 | Foyle's War – TV | ITV | David Richards |
| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Walt Disney Pictures | Tim Burton |
| 2008 | The Duchess | BBC Films/Pathe | Saul Dibb |
| 2007 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | DreamWorks | Tim Burton |
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code | Columbia Pictures | Ron Howard |
| 2005 | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Warner Brothers Pictures | Tim Burton |
| 2004 | Vera Drake | Thin Man Films | Mike Leigh |
| 2004 | De-Lovely | MGM | Irwin Winkler |
| 2002 | Tipping the Velvet – TV | BBC | Geoffrey Sax |
| 2001 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Warner Brothers Pictures | Steven Spielberg |
| 1999 | Topsy-Turvy | Thin Man Films | Mike Leigh |
| 1991 | Sherlock Holmes The Master Blackmailer | ITV | Sally Head |

## Theatre

Jaynes began choreographing for theatre in the late 1980s, and continues to work regularly in this discipline. In 2015 it was announced that she would be working with Mike Leigh on The Pirates of Penzance for the English National Opera.
Her work has been created for a wide range of theatres including the New Wolsey Theatre (Ipswich), Salisbury Playhouse, Birmingham Rep, Holland Park Opera, Stafford Festival Shakespeare, The Old Vic (London) and The National Theatre (London).
Jaynes has collaborated for more than 20 years with Director Peter Rowe on shows including Blues in the Night, Little Shop of Horrors, Guys and Dolls, and It's a Wonderful Life.

### Theatre credits

| Year | Production | Theatre | Director |
| 2023 | TONY! The Tony Blair Rock Opera | Leicester Square Theatre | Peter Rowe |
| 2019/20 | ONCE | No. 1 UK National Tour | Peter Rowe |
| 2018 | Still Alice | West Yorkshire Playhouse | Peter Rowe |
| 2015 | Sweet Charity | New Wolsey Theatre | Peter Rowe |
| 2015 | The Pirates of Penzance | English National Opera / London Coliseum | Mike Leigh |
| 2014 | Midsummer Songs | New Wolsey Theatre | Peter Rowe |
| 2014 | Kafka's Dick | Bath Theatre Royal | David Grindley |
| 2013 | Our House | New Wolsey Theatre/UK National Tour | Peter Rowe |
| 2013 | Daytona | Park Theatre London | David Grindley |
| 2011 | Guys and Dolls | Clwyd Theatr Cymru/Salisbury Playhouse/UK National Tour | Peter Rowe |
| 2010 | Little Shop of Horrors | Birmingham Rep | Peter Rowe |
| 2009 | It's a Wonderful Life | New Wolsey Theatre | Peter Rowe |
| 2009 | Orpheus in the Underworld | Holland Park Opera | John Abulafia |
| 2008 | Afterlife | The National Theatre | Michael Blakemore |
| 2007 | Stephen Fry's Cinderella | The Old Vic | Fiona Laird |
| 2007 | Blues in the Night | New Wolsey Theatre | Peter Rowe |
| 2006 | Promises and Lies | Birmingham Rep | Jonathan Church |
| 2005 | Sugar | New Wolsey Theatre | Peter Rowe |
| 2003 | The Threepenny Opera | The National Theatre | Tim Baker |
| 2000 | Equus | Salisbury Playhouse | Joanna Read |
| 2000 | My Best Friend | Hampstead Theatre | Anthony Clark |
| 2000 | Leader of the Pack | Belgrade Theatre, Coventry | Peter Rowe |

## Commercials

Jaynes' choreographic and movement work has been seen in commercials for numerous major brands, both national and international. The 2018 "Back to the Fuchsia" campaign for Ted Baker was choreographed by Jaynes, inspired by the song Think Pink from the musical Funny Face. In 2014, she choreographed a sequence in "The Gentleman's Wager", a six-minute ad for Johnnie Walker Blue Label starring Jude Law and Giancarlo Giannini which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. SmartWater, Lynx, Sainsbury's, and Scottish Widows are amongst the other brands whose commercials have featured her work.

## Short films

In addition to her work as a choreographer and movement director, Jaynes has also created work as a writer/director of short films. Her first film, For George, was completed in 2012, and was an Official Selection at the United Film Festival (London, UK), Festival Filmets (Badalona, Spain), and Best Actors Film Festival (San Francisco, USA), where it won the award for "Best Ensemble Cast in a Short Drama".
Her second short film, Gnomeland, was completed in 2013, and was chosen as an Official Selection at the Two Short Nights Film Festival (Exeter, UK) and the Deep Fried Film Festival (Lanarkshire, UK).