Ben Hopper
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Compagnie XY in Primrose Hill - 11 images (London, 2017)
🕑 Added 2018-04-23 15:05:32 +0000 UTCI first saw contemporary French circus troupe Compagnie XY perform in Madrid in 2010. I was completely overwhelmed. The show, Le Grand C, had them repeating and variating on different forms of human pyramids. It was so slow and complex my brain hurt, the good kind of hurt.
In 2014, I got to photograph their following show Il n'est pas encore minuit... (It's not yet midnight...) at the Festival du Cirque Actuel, CIRCa (CIRCa circus festival) in Auch, France.
This piece had 22 acrobats bursting into the stage fighting each other only to follow up creating abstract human forms, launching each other to the air, dancing and laughing. Incredibly breathtaking!
During the show, one of the female acrobats slipped and fell on the floor. They didn't want to move her, fearing for a back injury.
One of the performers approached the audience and explained they have to wait for the paramedics. He told the audience they can wait or leave, as it may take some time.
The audience sat in silence for 20 minutes until the paramedics arrived.
Once the paramedics were there, it took them another 15 minutes to figure out a safe way to carry her to the ambulance.
After they left the theatre, the performers huddled and the same performer came back facing the audience and said: "We decided to finish the show for you."
You could cut the air with a knife. It was one of the most stressful experiences I've encountered in circus. I could barely photograph.
An incident like this brings so much tension to the rest of the group, there is so much risk of additional injury. Sometimes it's just better to cancel the show and rest.
XY finished the show without further injuries.
It received one of the craziest standing ovations I've seen.
The same performer came back to the front and reported they have just heard from the hospital and the injured performer is ok. Her back was not hurt.
Last year, I had the pleasure of finally collaborating with XY during their visit to London. They performed Il n'est pas encore minuit... at The Roundhouse and we found a day when they were free for couple of hours.
These photos were made around Primrose Hill. They were taken exactly 1 year ago and 3 days, on April 20, 2017. Primrose Hill, London, UK. April 20, 2017
The camera I used was a Phase One XF 100MP, which in simple words means Medium Format 100 Mega Pixel camera. You can rent it in London from the lovely guys at Teamwork Digital.
PS I added the photographs as attachments (see bottom of post). This way you can see them bigger and in better quality. You don't have to download them, but it's there just in case. I think I'll start doing that in all future posts.
PPS you like XY's vibe, I urge you to check DOMINO, an incredible drone video they made in 2015.
