GREC –“Le Grand C”: Delightful

This is actually poetry, not a threesome

Parting from the Grec Festival can be quite sad – especially when, like this year, it has given you a chance to spend several lovely evenings. My friends and I could not have found a better way to do it than to pick “Le Grand C” by Compagnie XY as the last show, on Sunday 29 July. These French acrobats are so good, and their performance so well conceived, that I felt lucky and privileged to be among the audience. They manage to provide a quite different experience from Cirque du Soleil: their set is extremely sober and their poetic universe is based on silence, absolute trust, and human contact. When they softly hug each other as they build breathtaking human towers, or turn into the spinning dolls of a carrillon right before taking flight from a catapult, you cannot help but feel moved and enchanted. Except for the beginning of the show, which takes a bit too long to take off, they excel at building up momentum, then suddenly surprising you with an unexpected twist: the “Whoas” and “Eeeks” abound as you slowly surrender to their mastery, and when it ends you feel that you have learned a lot about the artistic drive, the challenges, and the astounding commitment of an acrobat. As we went down the steps of Teatre Grec, I found myself sharing a quiet prayer with the moon: may I climb up to this magical gardens again next year, and may I enjoy an equal share of inspiring times in good company as I have done in 2012.

UPS Score (Utmost Perfection Scale): 9 out of 10 + Standing Ovation