Alife of adventure, adrenaline and risk is not one actively sought by many, but for trial bike artist Thibaut Philippe, it’s one he cannot live without.
The French-born performer stages a dazzling and exhilarating show as part of the Cirque Éloize troupe, living the daredevil existence and quite literally running away with the circus every day.
But how does one begin on such a unique career path in the first place? “It’s because of my brother,” explains Philippe. “He started to climb small steps and walls [on his bicycle] – I followed him, it looked nice and I did it. We did some shows on weekends in France as a side job together, but he went to do another type of job. But me? I kept going, I loved it.”
Canada’s Cirque Éloize is an innovative group, presenting a range of multidisciplinary talents. Its performers are innovative forerunners who combine theatricality and humanity in their productions. iD, Éloize’s high-energy new show, blends traditional circus acts with urban dance, and features more than 100 individual acrobats, aerialists, hip hop dancers and breakdancers in an exhilarating display that melds traditional and modern identities.
It’s definitely not all elephants and clowns in the case of Cirque Éloize – but through his thick accent, Philippe is surprisingly reserved as he explains the thrilling act he brings to the stage.
“I am climbing obstacles with a bicycle,” he says. “It is like a mix of technique and a lot of perversion with a bike. We have a huge set, a trampoline and a wall where we practise with what we call a ‘Trampowall’. I interact with hip hop dancers and in the second half, the audience.”
As a member of the company for seven years, Philippe’s long tenure makes him something of an expert on the differences between Cirque Éloize and its competition. “If we’re going to compare to, say, Cirque Du Soleil, they are like an imaginary world, creating fairy tales. We’re more realistic – we can have 15 people onstage at one time, a small stage. We don’t have big costumes or lots of make-up on the face, so people can see us as we are in real life.
“A lot of people do two specific things. I do two acts; juggling and the Trampowall. Everyone in the cast gets involved in the whole production, and you see we are real people having real fun – we are not make-believe.”
Philippe may now be a Cirque Éloize stalwart, but his arrival at the company came about due to a mix of good fortune and timing. “A friend of mine decided against performing, and of course I said yes when I was offered,” he says. “Seven years [later] and I have done 1,000 shows to date. It was my goal to reach that and now I’m going to the next level, see what’s next.
“The act itself hasn’t changed so much, but because the cast has changed with the times, they bring their own spirit and soul to the life of the show.”
Indeed, with changing times come changing faces, and those changing faces are always changing places. “The vibe changes, so does the vibe of the city,” says Philippe. “Everywhere we go the audience reacts differently, which makes it interesting.”
What’s also particularly interesting about Philippe’s line of work is the luck he’s had – trial bike stunts with the circus are fast-paced, high-risk, loud and crowded, and yet he’s never had a serious accident onstage. Philippe even seems a little amused by the prospect of misfortune.
“Sometimes we do have accidents, but never big things going on, because safety is a priority and we do everything to support each other and make sure each other is OK. We are a real family.”
As you can imagine, Philippe lives and breathes trial bikes, and touring with Cirque Éloize has afforded him opportunities to interact and play with adrenaline freaks the world over. “I visit the countries we’re in and get to know people in the same field,” he says, “It’s a small community. It’s easy to reach people and see how trial biking is like in a certain country and see their take on the sport.”
With iD set to hit Australian shores in January as part of Sydney Festival 2017, we’ll get a taste of the excitement of Cirque Éloize – one that can only be matched by Philippe’s own anticipation for the visit.
“My first big trip just before joining the circus, I came [to Australia] for eight months and travelled all around,” he says. “It was my dream to come back and I’m happy to come seven years later with things to share with the people. I want to be inspiring – we usually get a nice reaction because it’s not something people see often. I’m sure Australian people are going to love [it] because they too don’t see this often.”
[iD photo by Valerie Remise]
iD,as part of Sydney Festival 2017, runs Friday January 13 – Sunday January 22 atRiverside Theatres.
