Normal desires
“ It is a moment of dance and an offering of an acrobatic body in the middle of the desert.” - La Gazette des festivals, June 2018
In Normal Desires, Emile Pineault invites us to open ourselves to acrobatic sensation. A lone figure on stage constantly overflows itself, its edges blurred in kinetic ecstasy. Impact, flux, repetition, constraint, squeezing, pushing, heat, vibration – Pineault’s work moves us through a series of states and affective spaces, mobilizing not only the body but also the powerful technologies of the theatre space to convey a subtle yet intense physical experience.
Emile Pineault is an experienced circus artist, and in this first solo work he takes a critical look at the conventions of acrobatic practice. Here, the circus body in no longer in a position of mastery but rather criss-crossed with lines of irresistible force. A deep engagement with light, sound, created live by Julien Brun and Joël Lavoie, and physical practice works towards the mediation of an acrobat’s ‘inner-motion’, proposing acrobatics as a shared experience – fleshy, rigorous, and intensely hypnotizing.
Direction and performance : Emile Pineault
Lighting and set design : Julien Brun
Sound design : Joël Lavoie
Dramaturgic advisor : Sebastian Kann
Outside views : Peter James, Mimi Jeong
Production designer : Lee Anholt
Creatives residencies : Circuit-Est, Espace Libre, Fondation L'Abri (Genève), Jakta 78 (Prague), Monument National, Destelheide (Dworp)
“ It is a moment of dance and an offering of an acrobatic body in the middle of the desert.” - La Gazette des festivals, June 2018
EMILE PINEAULT
Being immersed in the circus world since a young age has led Emile Pineault to profoundly re-examine his practice and the artistic field in which he evolves. Positioning himself in a break with the current aesthetics that tend to define and frame the circus practice, he works to decentralize and open the possibilities by proposing circus as a medium part of the complex network of the contemporary art. His current research focuses on sensoriality, embodiments and recycling of his acrobatic practice. He makes acrobatics a shared experience, as visceral and palpable for the viewer as it is for the acrobat.
A Danse-Cité production in collaboration with Emile Pineault. With the financial support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Circuit-Est.
Emile Pineault is supported by LA SERRE – arts vivants.
