From April 24 to 28, Gaëtan Levêque will present his new creation, Dodge, at Tohu, then, from May 2 to 4, at Diamant, in Quebec. A tribute to the trampoline that made him vibrate for more than twenty years, this work features six acrobats, questions gravity and highlights the need for community. A way for the artist to conclude this part of his professional life and move on to the next.
“I needed a transition, to create something with my apparatus, my companion, the trampoline, with which I spent more than 20 years of my life,” says Gaëtan Levêque. Thus, it was in 2016 that he began to think about a creation, of which he revealed a first version to the public at the beginning of 2020.
After the pandemic years, the show resumes its tour and, for the very first time, the company Le Plus Petit Cirque du monde, of which Mr. Levêque is responsible for the artistic division, lands in Quebec. “It’s not every day that we get the chance to perform here,” he said. And the trampoline has a more important place at home than in France. » Indeed, initially used only by gymnasts, the trampoline only migrated to the circus world at the end of the 1990s. Cirque du Soleil was also among the first to integrate this discipline into his creations. “In France, it took longer,” remembers Mr. Levêque. The trampoline was used in contemporary writing, around dance, often even, but less in technique. »
For Dodge, Gaëtan Levêque surrounded himself with versatile artists, some of whom he had trained more than ten years ago. ” The circle is complete ! It’s really nice to see them in this process and it’s symbolically strong for me,” he adds.
On stage, there are six artists trained in Chinese pole, Korean seesaw, gymnastic trampoline and aerobatics in general, but who are not specialized in circus trampoline. For three months, they worked to integrate the particularities of this apparatus. “As with many other disciplines, there is a freedom, but also a dose of adrenaline that comes with trampolining. Unlike the seesaw which is very vertical, the trampoline is a very open air space, which allows us to arrive somewhere other than on our feet. It opens up the possibilities, the directions, the movements, and therefore the quality of the movements,” explains Mr. Levêque.
In addition, the artist must have a more peripheral gaze and great body awareness, according to the director. “You have to know how high you are, in what position and at what speed. The trampoline canvas returns the acrobat with the energy he deposits there. If he is not on his own two feet, he will be sent back imperfectly, sometimes crooked. It’s a dialogue between the state of the body and the trampoline,” continues the enthusiast.
Initially made up of four men and two women, the creation Dodge is now exclusively masculine. A situation which was not wanted by Gaëtan Levêque, but the two female artists were unfortunately injured a month before the first performance. And at the last minute, it was difficult to find replacements. “It’s still a very gendered discipline. I think trampoline is practiced by 98% men. So, I looked for women, but it was very complicated. Circus schools have a role to play in this. This needs to change,” he says.
Working on body states
In his initial search for Dodge, Gaëtan Levêque did not really give space to a specific story. It was more about paying homage to his favorite apparatus, to show all its technical and artistic possibilities. But throughout the creative process, the former circus artist developed his dramaturgy. “Working on emotions, bodily states and states of being allowed me to write dramaturgy. When do we avoid danger, falling, gravity, [le moment] where we have to face someone? » he describes.
The collective aspect also mattered a lot to him in his writing. “We feel the moments together, the kindness and the importance of the fact that everyone is there, serving the other. We carry something together, we climb walls together. Something is being said between them,” he adds. Finally, each performer also has a solo, where he tells what he is, what he carries inside, explains the director.
“I go through several ranges of emotions when I watch the show, so I think that this can also be transmitted to the spectators,” hopes Gaëtan Levêque. With Dodge, he wants to create a moment of relaxation and even make spectators want to try the trampoline. “We arrive at a show and forget our worries, work, etc. In their seats, I don’t want people to be afraid, he concludes. I want them to feel the softness, the freedom, the lightness that the trampoline can provide. I would also like the collective, the group of people we see on set, to give a desire for solidarity, for goodwill between us. »