As a young adolescent I fell in love with
the circus arts and entered an intensive
training period at the National Circus
School of Montreal.
But soon enough, as I took my first steps
in the artistic universe, I also developed a
passion for contemporary dance. At the age
of 17, astonished and inspired by the works
of Louise Lecavalier in La La La Human Steps,
Baryshnikov’s interpretation of Le Jeune Homme
et la mort and Marie Chouinard’s Rite of Spring
I even considered dropping out of the circus
school to pursue a dance career. Still today,
despite 25 years as a hand-balancer perfecting
the art of immobility, my fascination for dance,
the art of movement, hasn’t left me.
I always feel an insatiable desire to move and
exult through dance… perhaps the antithesis
necessary to my continuous journey with
stillness and perfect balance.
First, the encounter with Danse-Cité’s artistic
director Daniel Soulière who invited me to
take part in the Traces-interprète’s portion
of their 2015 season. A custom-made artistic
offer for me, a hand-balancing performer and
master of stillness, to join in on a rendezvous
with the art of movement, dance. An encounter
between circus and dance. Several encounters
in fact, as this creation is featuring three short
pieces resulting from my encounters with the
creative universes of three different exceptional
choreographers. Encounters also with the other
artists who share the stage with me and, as
with every creation of Les 7 doigts de la Main, an
encounter with the ‘other’ and with the human
within each of us.
The creation of Triptyque is based on encounters.
►► SAMUEL TÉTREAULT, Artistic Director