ROBIN’S SHOW REVIEW: Le Grand C at New Victory Theatre
RICOCHET – ARTS FOR ALL AGES! is a festival of French performances for young audiences and their families presented by The New Victory Theater alongside French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), in collaboration with Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York. RICOCHET will feature three U.S. premieres of French work at The New Victory Theater (209 West 42nd Street) and at FIAF’s Florence Gould Hall (55 East 59th Street) from April 18 to May 12, 2013.
For the first time, this four-week series will bring together circus, puppetry and physical theater companies from France, introducing New York audiences to the evocative artistry and beauty found in French performing arts for families.
I had the opportunity to see the first production LE GRAND C by Compagnie XY (Lille, France) running from April 18 – 28. In LE GRAND C, a collective of 17 acrobats performs heart-stopping stunts with distinctive style and trust in each other as their only safety net. They create one astounding human formation after another to make a portrait of expressive movement, powerful physicality and continuous surprise. We witnessed incredible strength, beauty and agility that was awe-inspiring. The young acrobats performed one impressive feat after the other in this 70 minute (no intermission) production, and the pace picked up as the performance went on, even drawing chuckles from the audience at times when there were welcome touches of humor.
Compagnie XY was founded in 2005 to exhibit acrobatic ensemble work that reflects the personalities and creativity of each performer. The highly trained individuals are encouraged to showcase impeccable technique while experimenting with the possibilities of their bodies as a means of narration. From quite humble beginnings, Compagnie XY has traveled to fifteen countries and performed over 200 shows.
Tickets for LE GRAND C at The New Victory Theater cost $25, $18, $12 and $9 for NEW VICTORY Members and $38, $28, $18 and $14 for Non-members based on seat locations. Ages 7 and up.
Performances in RICOCHET – ARTS FOR ALL AGES! are made possible with the support of Institut français, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and the French-American fund for Contemporary Theater, a program of FACE
About The New Victory Theater:
Since The New Victory Theater opened its doors in 1995, it has become a cultural rite of passage for young New Yorkers, their families and schoolmates. The New Victory seeks sophisticated, thought-provoking and professional productions that are as artistically rich as they are entertaining, resulting in season after season of multidisciplinary works from around the globe and close to home. The theater’s contributions to the cultural landscape of the city were recently celebrated by the prestigious New York critics’ organization, The Drama Desk, which presented The New Victory Theater with a 2012 Special Award for “providing enchanting, sophisticated children’s theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in young people.” www.NewVictory.org
Tags: acrobatics, alliance francais, children's theatre, family entertainment, new victory theatre, nyc, off broadway, robin gorman newman
