Press Highlights
The Tribune de Genève highlights the new show of "Place au Spectacle!". This detailed article presents an array of exceptional artists, combining performance, beauty, and originality, in a show bridging circus and cabaret at Geneva's Casino-Theatre.
TRIBUNE DE GENEVE • Thursday, March 9, 2017
Between blacklight theater and chandelier, "Place au Spectacle!" impresses
At the intersection of circus and cabaret, the show's acts combine performance, beauty, and originality.
For ordinary mortals, a chandelier serves to illuminate a room. But dancer Emily Kinch prefers to use it as a trapeze to perform impressive aerial figures, clad in lacy lingerie. Charlie Plaçais, for his part, uses the bathtub he soaks in as a prop for his aerial straps act, where he exhibits his impeccable physique in a spray of splashes.
No doubt, the 8th edition of Place au Spectacle! emphasizes the sexy side. But this is far from the only asset of this show between circus and cabaret, which stands out for the variety of its international artists. We'll see, for example, a roller-skating couple spinning at a dizzying speed. Dancers adorned with a profusion of feathers and colors. Or a puppeteer who manipulates his wooden creatures with such dexterity that they seem alive.
Live, nothing beats it "I select the acts based on three criteria: they must provoke admiration, make people laugh, and be beautiful," explains Fred Serex, creator of Place au Spectacle! "Then, it's about balancing and giving rhythm to the whole so that the audience doesn't get bored for a moment."
Among the flagship performances of 2017 is that of Les Chapeaux Blancs. The duo revisits the Czech technique of blacklight theater, which uses ultraviolet light to create spectacular and poetic visual effects. Against a black background, phosphorescent characters and objects fly through the air, disappearing and reappearing as if by magic.
With their hand-to-hand and juggling acts, the Messoudi family will shine in two equally impressive ways. Father Messoudi will be very busy, as in the first act, he will notably balance his three sons simultaneously, and in the second, he'll have his glasses and hat removed by juggling clubs!
Promising or established, several of these talents have appeared on shows like Le plus grand cabaret du monde or Britain's Got Talent. "But seeing them live is not at all the same thing," assures Fred Serex. "Especially in a small venue like the Casino-Theatre, where there's great proximity to the spectators." MG
Watch the full show filmed LIVE
Available in streaming