The project

Standing in front of us, four women engage into playful acrobatic games in which they constantly invent the rules. Walking, running, catching, grabbing, climbing, climbing further, always moving forward…

«Knowing you will lose does not prevent from struggling», as these four acrobats tell us, obstinately obliging themselves to the feat and relishing each challenge, taking us together with their bodies to the limits of their physiological reality and at the edges of the laws of physics.

With a script written as rules of a game, Face Nord is an attempt to revive in (wo)mankind the playful innocence of a child, hence the origins and essential values of our acrobatic quest.

Face Nord had a premiere in 2011 with four men (Alexandre Fray, Frédéric Arsenault, Sergi Parés and Mika Lafforgue) and since then, has performed more than 250 times. By passing on this show to a female cast, Un loup pour l’homme wishes to see how this script, evoking struggle, resistance and sport imaginary, can evolve with four women’s bodies.

Team and partners

With Sanna Kopra, Lotta Paavilainen (or Spela Vodeb), Stina Kopra and Mira Leonard

Artistic direction of the re-staging Alexandre Fray, Sergi Parés, Pierre Déaux

Original Creation 2011 by Fred Arsenault, Alexandre Fray, Pierre Déaux (with on stage:  Mika Lafforgue and Sergi Parés)

Dramaturgy Bauke Lievens

Sound design Jean-Damien Ratel

Light design Thierry Robert

Costumes Emmanuelle Grobet

Technical team Pierre-Jean Faggiani and Sylvain Mege

Administration & Tour management Caroline Cardoso and Lou Henry

Production Un Loup pour l’Homme

With financial support from DRAC Hauts-de-France, Conseil Régional Hauts-de-France and Mairie de Lille

And support from La Batoude Centre des Arts du Cirque et de la Rue Beauvais, La Central del Circ Barcelona,  Théâtre Jean Vilar Vitry-sur-Seine

Tour (2018-2020)

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The project

Ride & Camp was a travelling project for 2019 which has consisted of getting in touch with partners from Central and South-Eastern Europe to create forums for dialogue and artistic initiatives.

It was all about being on the road and connecting our starting point with several destinations of Central and South-Eastern Europe (Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Albania, Kosovo, Switzerland…), by taking with us what constitutes the company “Un loup pour l’homme”: its members, shows, vehicles, know-how, interest in new encounters and sharing as well as its natural taste for celebration.

We were meeting energies, organizations, artists, institutions, here and there. The point was to get to know those who would like to support emergence of contemporary circus in this region. We participated to the global movement by accompanying the development of activities and projects that local actors are implementing, by planting new seeds, encouraging new possible paths.

With our local partners, we created forums of artistic meetings and present our shows, organise workshops, ensure togetherness and make sure we were visible as much as possible and attract the most people at each one of our events. We also encouraged contact with the local community.

Ride&Camp has been led and produced by Un loup pour l’homme, with general support from Teatroskop (a programme initiated by French Institute, Ministry of Culture and Communication and Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs), City of Lille and Région Hauts-de-France within the framework of their partnership with French Institute. Un loup pour l’homme is conventioned by DRAC Hauts-de-France (French Ministry of Culture).

Calendar

November-December 2017
Contact with partners of the cities perceived as our main stopovers, project co-elaboration

January-August 2018 
Preparation and production of the prefiguration project
Contact with the partners of other stopover cities

September 2018
Prefiguration of “Ride & Camp” in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia.

October 2018
Prefiguration assessment and re-writing of the project and action plan for “Ride & Camp 2019”

November 2018 – July 2019
Preparation and production of the project “Ride & Camp 2019”

May 2019  

RIDE & CAMP – Step 1 – Zagreb (Croatia)
> step co-organized with Cirkobalkana team, group of companies working for  circus developement in the Balkans : Cirkorama (Zagreb, Croatia), Cirkusfera (Belgrade, Serbia) and Čarobnjakov Šešir (Pula, Croatia)
>With support of French Institute of Croatia and ZPC – Zagrebački Plesni Centar.
> Circle of creativity project is organized with Cirkorama (Zagreb, Croatia), Cirkusfera (Belgrade, Serbia) and Cirkokrog (Ljubljana, Slovenia) with support from the European Commission (Erasmus+ programme)

June and July 2019
RIDE & CAMP – Step 2 – 3 weeks
>Celje (Slovenia) with French Institute of Slovenia, Muzofil, Municipality of Celje and Zavod Celeia
>Novi Sad (Serbia) with Infant festival and Serbian National Theater, with support of French Insti-tute of Serbia
> Pula (Croatia) with festival PUF
> Split (Croatia) with Room 100
> Tirana (Albania) with French Embassy in Albania and Municipality of Tirana
> Pristina (Kosovo) with Oda Teater and HAPU festival

September – october 2019
RIDE & CAMP – Step 3 – 1 month ½
>Tirana (Albania) with French Embassy in Albania and National Circus of Albania
>Belgrade (Serbia) a step co-organised with team of CirkoBalkana, in cooperation of festival BITEF and French Institute of Serbia. The project Circle of Creativity is organised in partnership with Cirkusfera (Serbia), Cirkorama (Croatia) and Cirkokrog (Slovenia).
>Novi Sad (Serbia) with Kultura Nova and OPENS 2019, European capital of youth
>Timisoara (Romania) with The Serious Road Trip / Scoala de Circ Timisoara, French Institute of Romania, and Timisoara 2021, European capital of culture
>Rijeka (Croatia) with festival Periskop
>Arogno (Switzerland) with Cultural Commission of Arogno
>Ste Croix (Switzerland) with the company Ici-bas and school Lezarti’cirque
>Pesmes (France) with Les Forges de Pesmes

October–December 2019
Assessment of “Ride & Camp”, in relation to our project partners.

Presentation

Standing in front of us, four men advance and put into play the sure strength and power of their living bodies, in the masculine and sensual exaltation of some sort of fighting spirit. Their path is an obstacle course, made up of surprising and playful acrobatic games in which they constantly invent the rules. Walking, running, catching, grabbing, climbing, climbing further, always moving forward…

«Knowing you will lose does not prevent from struggling», as these four acrobats tell us, obstinately obliging themselves to the feat and relishing each challenge, taking us together with their bodies to the limits of their physiological reality and at the edges of the laws of physics.

With a script written as rules of a game, FACE NORD is an attempt to revive in mankind the playful innocence of a child, hence the origins and essential values of our acrobatic quest.

Team and partners

Acrobats : Alexandre Fray, Mika Lafforgue, Fred Arsenault (or Arno Ferrera) & Sergi Parés
Artistic direction : Un loup pour l’homme & Pierre Déaux
Dramaturgy : Bauke Lievens
Sound design : Jean-Damien Ratel
Light design : Thierry Robert
Costumes : Emmanuelle Grobet
Technic : Pierre-Jean Faggiani, Laurent Mulowsky
Administration and tour management : Caroline Maerten, Lou Henry

Production : Compagnie Un loup pour l’homme
Coproductions : L’Hippodrome de Douai – Le Bateau Feu / Scène nationale Dunkerque – Festival Theater Op de Markt, Neerpelt (Belgique) – Cirque théâtre d’Elbeuf, Centre des arts du cirque de Haute-Normandie – Le Sirque, Pôle Cirque de Nexon en Limousin – EPPGHV, La Villette, Paris – Equinoxe – Scène nationale de Châteauroux
Public partners : DRAC Nord pas de calais – Région Nord pas de calais – DGCA

Tour (2011-2020)

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Présentation

Appris par corps is a show for two acrobats. With a broaden vision of hand to hand balancing, this piece is questioning the relationship between two people, through the filter of this peculiar couple made of a base and a flyer. These two male bodies is ambiguously navigating from tenderness to violence, from wish to mingle to temptation to escape to the obligation of this almost twin-link, connecting them irremediably.

“In this show, two men face each other and challenge their relationship. They lead us through the turmoils of intimacy, where bonds become loose, where the boundaries between love and death intertwine.
Through their movements, borrowing from dance, drama and circus, an intense but fragile relationship is at stake, which echoes Nature. The hand to hand technique becomes a language of its own, a sort of cryptogram needing to be sounded out in order to understand its sensitive alphabet.
It’s a story about brotherhood, about two beings, lonely but strongly united by their own fights, hope and almost twin-like interdependency.
This acrobatic duet calls for union, while teaching to accept one’s own loneliness and our differences”
Arnaud Anckaert, october 2007

Team and partners

Collective writing : Arnaud Anckaert, Frédéric Arsenault, Alexandre Fray
Acrobats : Alexandre Fray, Frédéric Arsenault
Stage direction : Arnaud Anckaert
Light and stage design : Frantz Loustalot
Technical direction : Cécile Hérault
Sound design : Hervé Herrero
Choreographical eye : Mathilde Van Volsem
Costumes : Flora Loyau
Administration : Peggy Donck

Production : Compagnie Un loup pour l’homme 
Coproductions : Festival Theater Op de Markt, Neerpelt (Belgique), Equinoxe – Scène nationale de Châteauroux, Culture Commune – Scène nationale du bassin minier du Pas de Calais, Les Migrateurs / associés pour les Arts du Cirque, Jeunes Talents Cirque, Espace Périphérique – Paris, TOHU – cité des arts du cirque de Montréal
Acknowledgment : Centre régional des arts du cirque de Lomme, Le Prato – Théâtre International de Quartier, CIE HENDRICK VAN DER ZEE

Tour (2007-2014)

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