The 40th cohort of graduates of the National Circus School presented Thursday evening at TOHU the first of its graduation show “Until the next me”.
A dreamlike, sometimes stormy odyssey, marked by effort, determination, success, but also trials and difficulties. Directed by actor and director Didier Lucien, this “circus play” – as he likes to call it – tells the story of a person who dreams of being someone else and become that dream.
In fact, the 26 graduates shared the circular stage in a long sequence of tableaux which began gently with their awakening, in an acrobatic and contortion number on the ground, and which ended almost the same way, with heartfelt hugs and goodbyes that mean “see you next”.
“Until the next me” is also an analogy of the journey of ENC students who over their three years of study have had to deal with the complexities that the pandemic has brought in its wake. Seeing the 26 circus artists jump into each other’s arms, we understand that the road has been strewn with pitfalls, but that the friendships and skills acquired will remain and will be useful to them for the future.
Fusing a multitude of disciplines, including ground and aerial acrobatics (straps, fabrics, trapeze), juggling, clowning, and many more, the show that took some time to take off has proven rather danceable, especially on its last miles. It is also on a dynamic cancan dance that the circus artists, who each master two or three disciplines, left the public Thursday evening.
Some numbers, such as Cyr’s wheel duet, the aerial acrobatics triptych, the trapeze-dance and the Chinese pole, aroused the strongest reactions from the spectators, who loudly praised the artists’ abilities.
At its premiere, however, the show was somewhat uneven at times. It must be said that the nervousness was at its height and palpable, both in the audience, where parents, family and friends had come to encourage the graduates, and among the graduates themselves, leaving room for a few hiccups at the start of the performance.
An inexhaustible source of inspiration, daydreams and mythology generally do well in the circus. These themes make it possible to cast a wide net and play with the softness and roughness of the disciplines. This is exactly what happened during the 90 minutes of “Until the next me”. However, we had to wait until the second half of the show to see this contrast and witness a change of pace.
The show “Until the next me” is presented at TOHU until June 12.
