Mule
by the À Sens Unique collective
Mule
Creation in winter 2016/2017.
Created and performed by : Hélène Leveau & Aviva
50 minutes in stage lighting (theaters, outdoors at
night, circus tents, warehouses...)
Rose-Williams
For audiences ages 5 and up
Lighting design : Clémentine Pradier
Outside eye : Hugues Delforge
The show.
The discipline.
“Mule” explores the relationship between two women
with too little space between them. Affection between
them grows thin as the weight of their relationship becomes physical, one always stacked on the other; respect
between friends only lasts so long when the other becomes your chair.
Icarian games is a ridiculous discipline in which the
porter/base lies on their backs, bottoms raised on a
little pillow, all limbs outstretched towards the ceiling.
The flyer then sits, buttocks on the feet, their feet in
the porter’s hands. This basic position (which looks
somewhat like an overly contemporary IKEA chair and
is known as “throne” in acroyoga), is the starting point
for all the Icarian technique. By bending legs and arms
and pushing in unison, one can do flips, turns, spins,
and many more things.
No matter how closely in tandem they move, their perspectives never quite match. Uncommonly strenuous discord ensues.
One thing’s for sure: they will breach all reasonable
boundaries, entangle themselves beyond reprieve, and
along the way find absurdity, joy, defeat, exhaustion, and
a few potato crisps.
Icarian games, by definition, puts the base on their
backs, a position that hinders their movement through
space. We are excited by finding ways to defy this traditionally static discipline by making it mobile, and dynamically at that!
-2-
Aviva Rose-Williams.
The collective.
Aviva started circus when she was 10 years old with Splash circus
and continued her training at SF circus center. In 2010, she was
accepted to the Quebec circus school, where she majored in
Chinese pole and co-founded À Sens Unique. Ater graduation,
she toured her pole act in multiple fesivals (Turbo 418, Fun Fatale,
Chicago Contemporary, Circus Maximus etc...)She is now touring
“Léger démêlé” and creating “Mule”.
Our collective, À Sens Unique, was created in 2012 by 6 students
during the Quebec circus school’s professional program. Originally wanting to produce a cabaret before graduation sent us on our
separate ways, we got to work. However, we quickly realized that we
had bigger goals. We began playing around with the idea of creating
a group act. The act soon became a show, and before we knew it, we
had graduated and were packing our bags for Europe.
In 2013, we officially established the company in France. We spent a
year touring various smaller shows and solo acts (Cactus Circus, Sans
Prendre de Gants, International sisters, the Cabaret show…) and in
2014, we finished our first official full-length creation, “Léger démêlé”
(Slight entanglement). This show has now been performed in 5 countries, and over 50 times.
The collective is now preparing its second creation, “Mule”.
Artists.
Hélène Leveau.
Helene started circus when she was 6 years old. She attended the
circus highschool Châtellerault national school. When she was 17,
she was accepted to the Quebec circus school, where she majored
in slack rope and co-founded À Sens Unique. After graduation, she
toured her solo slack rope act in multiple festivals (Circa, Luna Cabellera, Roulotte enchantée, Austria’s juggling festival...). She is now
touring “Léger démêlé” and creating “Mule”.
-3-
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Creation calendar.
Contact.
6 - 16 Nov. - La Mue
(Cairon, France)
17 - 25 Nov. - Centre culturel Wolubilis
(Brussels, Belgium)
7 - 22 Jan. - Kinetic Arts Center
(Oakland, California, U.S.A.)
26 Jan. - 5 Feb. - Espace Catastrophe
(Brussels, Belgium)
13 - 25 Feb. - La Cité du Cirque
(Le Mans, France)
26 Feb. - 4 March - Théâtre de l’Enfumeraie
(Allonnes, France)
Collectif À Sens Unique
43 rue d’Alger - Hangar Créalab
72000 Le Mans
France
Partners & Supporters.
Pôle régional cirque Le Mans, La Mue - Karine Saporta, L’Atelier Lefeurve&André, Château de Monthelon, Centre culturelle Wolubilis, Kinetic
Arts Center, Espace Catastrophe – Centre International de Création des
Arts du Cirque [BE], Théâtre de l’Enfumeraie, La Spedidam, La ville du
Mans, K-e. Creation.
Technique: Clementine Pradier
[email protected]
Tour Manager: L’envoleur
Guillaume Cornu
[email protected]
+33 (0) 610 80 16 73
www.asensunique.com