COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE – July 7-17, 2022 LiveEvents July 1, 2022 819 13th Edition MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE After two years of adapted and even truncated programming, MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE returns with all its glory! From July 7 to 17, we can expect a particularly extensive 13th edition, punctuated by major new features and which will mark the great return of international circus artists to Montreal, from the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Guadeloupe, France and, of course, Quebec and Canada. This panoply of artists will represent with flair the best of the world’s contemporary circus with performances infused with inventiveness, rigor, risk and a touch of madness! “We’ve been dreaming all year about this new edition! All year, we’ve been preparing ourselves to celebrate this reunion between the public and artists, and we wanted to think big! Without barriers, without limits, in the pleasure of seeing each other again, in celebration and expectation of all its extraordinary artistic encounters. I invite everyone to stroll on the TOHU site and enjoy all its effervescence. We promise absolutely striking, daring or emotional moments, moments that call for celebration or guaranteed laughter! This is circus – in all its forms and in all its richness. Think big and come and embrace everything we have to offer!” – Nadine Marchand, director of MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE. To purchase your tickets to any of the shows visit: www.montrealcompletementcirque.com What to see at the TOHU hub APRÈS LA NUIT by Nord Nord Est and Benoit Landry (Quebec)TOHU, Circular Hall, July 5-16, general public The flagship show of this 13th edition. Designed specifically for the TOHU rotunda – a 360° stage used to its full height – this new large-scale creation by the NORD NORD EST company is directed by BENOIT LANDRY (Serge Fiori – Seul ensemble from Cirque Éloize). APRÈS LA NUIT is a waking dream, a journey filled with freedom and a fiery zest for life. Spectators, reunited in a large circle, will watch twelve acrobats and dancers deploy on an imposing scenic device, with aerial installations like mysterious imaginary palaces, floating between sky and earth. The Montreal trio CHANCES completes this striking immersive tableau with their inventive and luminous live music with sounds from afar. This show will be presented throughout the festival. BARKA by Gipsy Kumbia Orchestra (Quebec)TOHU, Big Top, from July 6 to 17, general public It’s a celebration under the TOHU big top with an explosion of music, dance, circus and imagination! Performed by the GIPSY KUMBIA ORCHESTRA, a two-time JUNO Award nominated group, BARKA is filled with delirious energy and auditory, visual and sensory stimulation. A celebration of life, hope and freedom. To the rhythm of cumbia, combining accordion, violin, clarinet, a brass section and various Colombian percussions, we find ourselves on board a boat. Explorers, migrants or survivors: it doesn’t matter, we are leaving! The journey has begun, each of us in search of our dream. We all float together in motion, while a great storm is looming on the horizon. Let’s make sure the boat doesn’t sink! FASE by Marta & Kim de Dansateliers (Norway, Netherlands)TOHU, Espace Cascades, July 8 to 11, general public Here, three human beings move as one constantly evolving organism. Strong in their bond, but at the same time fragile. A system that moves endlessly, rising only to break again. Through circus and dance, the performers build, spin and swirl around each other. What does it mean to be part of something? How do we exist together as human beings? Three performers explore social mechanisms and dynamics and invite the audience to participate in their experience. And, for one moment, we all become a part of FASE. HIATUS by La Marche du Crabe (Quebec)TOHU, Escapade Big Top, from July 9 to 11, for young children – 2 years and older In HIATUS, created by the same Montreal company behind LE MOBILE (MCC 2018), we highlight these suspended moments where nothing happens, essential moments to childhood games and creativity. The playground is circumscribed by a wooden palisade and a chain-link fence. Cloistered in this courtyard, two acolytes enjoy building and deconstructing their environment, while their neighbor, at the command of her wind instruments, offers a musical counterpoint to their creations. Intended for children, HIATUS combines dance, theater and circus arts in a body language that explores relationships with others and space. LA FAMILLE GOLDENCRUST by Les Deux de Pique (Quebec)TOHU, Espace Camping, from July 8 to 10 + July 13 to 17, general public How can we forget the visit of the very colorful FAMILLE GOLDENCRUST at TOHU last summer? This time, they’re coming with their magnificent motorhome to offer a flamboyant comedy and circus show, worthy of the most beautiful campgrounds and shopping malls in Florida. Grace and Kevin, an endearing snowbird couple with unusual talents, have put together a selection of the best moments of the large-scale production Above the Sea and Beyond, which they’ve renamed: Above de “C”… comme Camping. All that’s missing are the pyrotechnic effects, the technicians, and the entire cast of dancers. To be up to the challenge, Grace and Kevin will have to use all sorts of tricks… PLAST by ENT (Sweden)TOHU, Escapade Big Top, from July 12 to 16, general public PLAST is an exploratory circus show aimed at an audience eager for unusual discoveries. Using natural and artificial materials, suspended bodies and original live music, this sensual and hypnotic rendezvous draws on circus techniques, such as the corde lisse, and explores humanity’s relationship with nature. Suspended bodies – sometimes even by the hair – evoke the fragile balance of our world. We are here now, together. Will the balance break? How can we listen to each other? PLAST manages to suspend the activity of time… WHAT TO SEE AT THE National Circus School (ÉNC) BELLES PLACES by Métis’Gwa (France, Guadeloupe)ÉNC, July 8, 9 and 11, general public, 8 years and older Métis’Gwa is a contemporary circus organization based in Guadeloupe dedicated to creating new projects steeped in its own Caribbean cultural heritage. It is the first creation of its kind to be presented at the festival. Merging contemporary circus and Caribbean dance, under the choreographic signature of LÉO LÉRUS, the four female artists who meet on stage – two dancers from Guadeloupe and Guyana and two Cyr wheel artists from metropolitan France – exchange their various experiences. There is often talk of “the place” (singular) that women occupy in our society. But which place(s) are we talking about exactly? PISTE PISTE PISTE by Portmanteau (Finland)ÉNC, July 14, 16 and 17, for children – 4 years and older Shadows create surprises, and the movement of balls, fabrics and acrobatics create a magical and minimalist world that young children will love. Two characters discover and plant three dots that grow and transform into a line, through movement, illusion and circus prowess. An immaculate stage becomes an open door to the imagination, thanks to the overhead projectors that create a dynamic and poetic visual environment. Combining contemporary circus, dance and visual arts, PISTE PISTE PISTE is based on the children’s book Três pontinhos (Three little dots) by author Mario Vale. This show offers a fascinating journey into the world of shapes and creativity, which will stimulate children’s curiosity. Do you see what I see? MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE is a unifying and mobilizing festival that offers every year, in July, a circus program spread across the city for 11 days. Created in 2010, MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CiRQUE is the result of a collective dream. TOHU—the project’s driving force—along with the support of Cirque Éloize, Les 7 doigts, Cirque du Soleil, École nationale de cirque (National Circus School), and En Piste, have pooled their expertise, resources and will to create the first North American international festival dedicated to circus arts. www.montrealcompletementcirque.com
