At 8 years old, she started the circus like one tries tennis. “I went with a friend. She stopped after 3 months, I immediately loved the trapeze…”, she remembers. To the point of devoting his life to aerobatics. At just 19 years old, she flew the runway at the renowned Cirque Plume before co-founding Les P’tits Bras, a company that lives like a small family and whose members can all boast quite a pedigree. This year, those who have already visited Namur twice in May are returning to present their latest creation “Vent d’Ouest”, co-produced by the festival. It will tour for the next five years.
The body as a guide
A few hours before setting foot on their own structure, mounted on two trailers, it is time for final preparations.
“It’s a new show, it’s only been performed once, it’s still very fragileconfesses Sophie. This morning we had a spinning, this afternoon we are focusing on technique.”
Rue Basse Marcelle, behind the walls of the Athénée Royal, it’s time for warm-ups. Pilate, abs, stretching, everyone has their own routine. The biggest secret of these acrobats? Knowledge of their own body. A body used daily. No secret this time, to last, you have to train. And to avoid danger, rely on what you know. “At 45, my body is used to things that it has always known perfectly. But if I have to do new tricks, it’s definitely harder today. We all set our own personal limits. That’s it. This is why we have younger people who can offer new circus feats.”
Trust as guardian
Trust between the six partners who will be on the set is the other pillar of this precarious balance between audacity and risk-taking. Between two strokes of chalk on the feet and hands, the harness on the waist during rehearsals, the exchanges flow. “I told him not to do it like that. […] are you sure of your grip? […] Me, I prefer that you let me go sooner […] It won’t go with these pants.”
Communication is crucial. Once the public is installed, the harnesses will have disappeared and without a net, the same figures will be performed on this structure culminating at a good ten meters high.
Wounds exist, they mark the bodies. “Most often, it’s tendinitis or strains, but whatever, let’s go!”, smiles Sophie while talking about the most beautiful job in the world. A profession made of technical and physical prowess, without forgetting the artistic. Aerobatics, music, humor, the P’tits Bras company has its way of making spectators forget their daily lives.
An hour before going on stage, you will still have to go through the makeup and dressing boxes… Before hugging each other one last time and wishing each other in the simplest way possible, “see you later”.
A life on the road
With its outdoor structure that can be assembled in hours, the Compagnie des P’tits Bras generally provides 50 to 60 dates across Europe, from the end of April to the beginning of October. And the rest of the year?
“In the winter, we sometimes work for others, indoors, as performers, or we create for our company or even for others”explains Sophie Mandoux, also artistic director of Les P’tits Bras. “This winter, we dedicated it to the creation of our new show.” The opportunity to relax a bit? Not especially. The different members of the company are scattered throughout France and Quebec, in particular. To put together “Vent d’Ouest”, they found themselves in residence in France, Spain…
Here or elsewhere, always somewhere… “It’s our life”.
