Corps extrêmes

Corps extrêmes was inspired by Rachid Ouramdane’s desire to “focus on the fascination produced by the notions of flying, weightlessness, suspension, soaring…” Two emblematic extreme sports enthusiasts—a highliner and a climber—meet on stage, far from their habitual playgrounds, with eight acrobats.
Light and often swirling, this extraordinary community of freedom-lovers, whose members embody in different ways the Icarus dream in today’s world, evolve between the sky and the earth, with an impressive climbing wall at the back of the stage as a fulcrum. The stage, above which is a long high wire, is sometimes transformed into a vast screen, onto which are projected literally vertiginous images of extreme athletes in action in magnificent natural landscapes.
The voice-overs of these two exceptional athletes also play a part, each giving a personal account of their practice. Sometimes soaring, sometimes rousing, Jean-Baptiste Julien’s musical score further enhances this multi-layered, subtly evocative piece.
Rather than giving into the facile attraction of virtuosity, the piece delves deep to uncover the existential— perhaps even metaphysical—dimension of these dances with the void. Simultaneously anchored in reality and dreamlike, both intimate and larger than life, it sheds a striking artistic light on extraordinary human experiences.