LA NOSTALGIE DE L'ACROBATE

For this new show, we want to explore the connection between the acrobat and another figure who has endured through the centuries: the warrior. The origins of the circus constantly take us back to combat. First with the Roman gladiators and the deadly games characteristic of the ancient circus, then the military inspiration of the modern circus, which emerged with Philip Astley, an ‘unemployed’ soldier who put his military horsemanship to good use by turning it into a spectacle. What are we to make today of an art form whose stagecraft was first honed in combat? Who is this acrobat today?

A fighter? A madman? A free spirit? A braggart? An entertainer? A mercenary ready to sell himself to the highest bidder? And then, what is his purpose? Who does he serve? What nostalgia does he speak of? Like the warrior, he turns his body and skills into a tool of his trade, uses skill and courage, risks death, roams the world, and crafts his image to inspire fear and admiration. Like him, he pursues the same absurdity, the same nostalgia. In this world where the notion of commitment is fading, where risk-taking is often disparaged or hijacked by a despicable liberalism that shamelessly promotes the concept of ridicule and deceit, what future can the acrobat dream of today?

Co-direction artistique : FRAGAN GEHLKER & ANNA TAUBER
Les partenaires confirmés : Plateforme 2 Pôles Cirque en Normandie / La Brèche à Cherbourg et Le Cirque Théâtre d’Elbeuf, Le Palc – Pôle National Cirque de Châlons-en- Champagne, Grand Est, Latitude 50, Pôle arts du cirque et de la rue de Marchin (Belgique), l’Espace Périphérique (Ville de Paris – Parc de la Villette), le PPCM – Plus petit cirque du monde – Centre Culturel de Rencontres. Les Halles de Schaerbeek (Belgique)