Philosophy

For 17 years, Company XY has been questioning the acrobatic language through the practice of handstands. While relying on the bases of this circus technique, the artists of the collective keep playing with the cods, the rhythms and the forms of acrobatics to put them back at the center of the artistic gesture. Since then, the company has chosen to work in large numbers in order to multiply the possibilities and to enlarge its field of research. This choice also responds to an artistic approach that wants to question the concepts of mass, crowd and their interactions in the same space-time. Further, it is still a question of questioning the relationship between individuality and a group or within a given social environment.

It is also in this approach that Company XY has chosen to be a true collective by sharing the know-how and ideas of each person and by adopting a collegial creative process. This constant desire to be part of a process of transmission and sharing in a non-hierarchical framework considerably influences the daily work and becomes a real component of the artistic forms that are produced. In this spirit, the collective has chosen to turn towards the public through the collective creation of large-scale forms for the theater, the public space or any place that authorizes frontal or circular performances.

History

In 2019, "Möbius" is the fifth creation of Company XY questioning humanity as part of a larger whole of the living world by analogies with Murmurations this incredible phenomenon of synchronised flight where each member of a group reacts almost simultaneously, as if they were one being.

At the beginning with "Laissez-porter" in 2005 we wanted to find ourselves around our discipline, our know-how. It was an opportunity to test our foundations. For " Le Grand C " in 2009 we started to feel our way, with a feeling of unknown in the work with a large numbers of artists. The show was thus tinged with solemnity and sobriety. "It's not midnight yet..." in 2014 finally allowed us to expand our playing space and joyfully invite dance, play and musicality...

"Les Voyages" in 2018, engages us in an approach of creation In situ with the ambition to invest a territory and its landscapes with the bodies for only material and in banner the word "to carry" which allows to reinvent in acts a universal gesture.

All these creations draw together a collective of artists united around a common passion for acrobatic practice and the writing of singular forms. The success of the previous shows - more than 1000 performances around the world - have opened the way to a unique research on the physical language and the universes they are likely to compose for the public.

In 2016, the Company XY is, for the first time in its history, supported by the Ministry of Culture (Cerni). Since then, the collective has continued to grow and become a platform for cooperation in which the artists develop new acrobatic experiences within the various creations.

They have also been able to extend their work on transmission in the framework of master classes at the Cirque-Theatre d'Elbeuf (2017) or by investing in a long-term cooperation program with Palestinian circus schools (2016-2018).

From 6 the collective now counts nearly 40 acrobats.

Since 2017, Company XY has been associated with the Phénix-scène nationale de Valenciennes as part of the Pôle européen de création and with the Cirque-Théâtre d'Elbeuf-Pôle National Cirque en Normandie for all its projects.

She has also been supported since 2016 by the BNP-Paribas Foundation.