Teaser
Presentation
For years, Karim Randé and his accomplices propelled their bodies to such heights that it was clear they were playing with fire. It’s true that when you become accustomed to always pushing back the limits, you begin to think that there is nothing to it and that it’s a simple feat.
Yet behind this valiant façade, the body of the circus artist hides fears and fragility. It conceals wounds.
It is precisely these wounds that Karim, Silvana, and Fabien have decided to explore. From these skillfully concealed injuries and this perpetual threat, they extract an invigorating elixir, the show Le membre fantôme [The Phantom Limb].
Under the mischievous eye of the impeccable maestro Madeg Menguy, who unfurls his score on the ground and in the air, an infernal acrobatic dance begins. Crutches, splints, and braces are diverted from their function and become formidable stage props. Happy to thumb its nose at thwarted destinies, this show is a concentrate of pure optimism.
With Karim Randé, Fabien Millet, Madeg Menguy, Silvana Sanchirico
Outside perspective Grégory Feurté, Farid Ayalem Rahmouni, Nicolas Bernard, Émilie Bonafous
Music Madeg Menguy
Light technician Emilien Picard
Costumes Suan Czepczynski
Head of production and distribution Mylène Rossez
Coproductions Cirk'Eole in Montigny-les-Metz / Le Carré Magique national circus arts center in Lannion-Trégor / La Verrerie d'Alès national circus arts center in Occitanie / Scène de Rue, Festival des Arts de la Rue in Mulhouse
With the support of La Grainerie in Toulouse / Zépétra circus school in Castelnau-le-Lez / Maison de la Danse in Lyon
"The artists operate with a disconcerting ease and yet, each in their own way, they always remember the risk of injury."
– Le Télégramme
In 2016, following a Korean teeterboard injury, the circus artist Karim Randé decided to have his right foot amputated in order to return to the circus.
He felt an enormous desire to play down the situation and get on with things. During his physiotherapy, he started dancing on crutches and discussed a project for a show with his fellow circus artist Fabien Milet. Fabien had already created a Chinese double pole act with underarm supports and was enthusiastic about the idea of developing the act and adapting the choreographic movement associated with disability.
Little by little, Karim realized that the project couldn't be limited to his own experience, but rather to a concept: while his injury was very conspicuous, for many acrobats, such as for the aerial circus artist Thibault Clerc, it may no longer be visible, but the disability is still very much there.
Karim Randé had found his acting and writing partners, and the BaNCALE company was born!