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Seeing is believing
Don't look down: Alexandra Royer, up among the flies ready to fly down on to a six inch wide, 13ft plank. plankSequence 8
Les 7 Doigts de la main
**** IF life seems dull, a bit flat and you
are looking for a bit of excitement then try being shot high into the
air from a 13ft by 6in plank balanced on the shoulders of two blokes. For added spice throw in a triple somersault mid
air or something similar and land back on the plank. That should blow
the cobwebs away, if you survive or course. Or you could try leaping through tiny hoops at
ridiculous heights in unbelievable contortions or perhaps attempt flying
to logic defying heights on a teeter board, which is posh for a circus
seesaw. Do not try this at home would be an
understatement with Montreal based circus company Les 7 Doigts de la
main; do not try this, full stop, would be more to the point as they
stretch incredulity to the limit with a mesmerising 90 minutes of dance
and acrobatics. There are no safety wires or nets and few, if
any, margins for error but this is no mere circus act full of death
defying stunts and tricks, cue drum rolls and tarrahs, this is theatre
and no glittering sequins in sight, with the feats of supreme
circus talent held together by contemporary dance and moments of humour. Canada, and particularly its French speaking
provinces, seems to be a centre of modern circus, a circus which has
more in common with dance and ballet than big top, and Les 7 Doigts
de la main, literally seven fingers of the hand, founded by its
seven directors in 2002, is part of that tradition. The simplest skill, or rather the safest, being
the one least likely to give you broken bones and a fractured skull if
you get it wrong, is cigar box juggling, and in this one Eric Bates,
regarded as one of the best exponents of the art in the world, makes it
look as if the boxes are glued together. It might not be dangerous but
by golly he’s good and the odd mistake here and there added to the
reality and difficulty of what is a remarkable skill, oh, and he also
shows a mean turn in break dancing. Devin Henderson climbs up poles like a monkey on
speed and comes down them even faster, with one particular slide, upside
down, heading towards terminal velocity as his head stopped a couple of
inches from the floor with just his legs wrapped around the pole for
brakes. Then we had circus-trained Maxim Laurin and
multidisciplinary partner, Ugo Dario, on the Korean board. Here it gets complicated, the Korean Board
apparently is a teeter board excep You get the idea, thus Max sends Ugo flying who
lands to launch Max and so on, perpetual motion, keeping each other in
mid air, even changing ends a couple of times which is a dangerous
manoeuvre in its own right.
Former gymnast Camille Legras and her partner
Tristan Nielsen are hand to hand acrobats. She flies through the air
with the greatest of ease at silly speeds and heights and he catches her
hand to hand or by the feet, or one handed – simple, at least to
describe. The precision, strength and balance needed by both of
them is remarkable. Then there is Alexandra Royer, a Moroccan trained
in classical horseback riding who has deserted her horse to star on the
Russian bar, that 13 foot by six inch plank we mentioned ealier, which
combines trampoline and beam with a smattering of madness thrown in. She is also an expert, and gold medal winner in the aerial hoop, which is another fun way to risk a fractured skull as you whirl around the stage upside down playing look no hands mum. And finally there is the announcer, Colin Davis,
who is no mean trumpet player, and who, along with partner Devlin,
manages to squeeze through hoops high in the air at ridiculous speed
while performing somersaults, flips, leaps and jumps. Davis manages one breathtaking leap through a
hoop at least six foot high landing in a somersault on the floor with
his arms still firmly by his side. My knowledge of gymnastics is similar
to my understanding of mediaeval Polynesian midwifery, but from where I
sat it sure looked dangerous. And behind all the circus skills on show was a
pulsating techno rhythm and haunting themes, even a song from Mr Davi Not everything was perfect. There were the odd
small mistakes. In plays, musicals or even dance, minor errors are
usually known only to the cast, the audience left in blissful ignorance,
but in acrobatics or juggling, they are there for everyone to see. You
can’t really hide the bad or missed landing, the dropped box, the tower
of rings brought down by a mistimed dive but somehow these just added to
the appeal of the show, demonstrating the level of skill involved and
the inherent danger in much of the performance. It is directed and choreographed by two of Les 7
Doigts founders, former trapeze artist Shana Carroll and her husband
former hand to hand specialist Sebastien Soldevila and if you get the
chance to see it this is a show that just fills you with wonder and
admiration and it also shows one of the great strengths of International
Dance Festival Birmingham 2014. Without IDFB, international acts, such as this,
would almost certainly never be seen in Birmingham. IDBF has provided
the opportunity to see Sequence 8 and it is one that is well worthwhile
taking. To 10-05-14 Roger Clarke
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that instead of the flyer landing on the mat or shoulders of catchers
and so on, he lands back on the board, sending his partner into space
and so on.