Normal Desires

In Normal Desires, Emile Pineault invites us to open ourselves to acrobatic sensation. A lone figure on stage constantly overflows itself, its edges blurred in kinetic ecstasy. Impact, flux, repetition, constraint, squeezing, pushing, heat, vibration – Pineault’s work moves us through a series of states and affective spaces, mobilizing not only the body but also the powerful technologies of the theatre space to convey a subtle yet intense physical experience. Emile Pineault is an experienced circus artist, and in this first solo work he takes a critical look at the conventions of acrobatic practice. Here, the circus body in no longer in a position of mastery but rather criss-crossed with lines of irresistible force. A deep engagement with light, sound, created live by Julien Brun and Joël Lavoie, and physical practice works towards the mediation of an acrobat’s ‘inner-motion’, proposing acrobatics as a shared experience – fleshy, rigorous, and intensely hypnotizing. "We witness the simple journey of a being strongly connected with their interiority. It is a moment of dance and an offering of an acrobatic body in the middle of the desert. ” - La Gazette des festivals, June 2018