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,[1][2] theatre and commercials.
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[3] and a career in film began in 1999 with Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy,[4][5] earning her a nomination in the American Choreography Awards.[6]
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.[28][29] SmartWater, Lynx, Sainsbury's, and Scottish Widows are amongst the other brands whose commercials have featured her work.
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),[30] Festival Filmets (Badalona, Spain),[31] 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)[32] and the Deep Fried Film Festival (Lanarkshire, UK).[33]