Geometric Animal – Elsa Guérin / Studio Phantôm in Albi

From 24 at 19:00 to 25 february 2027 at 20:00

Blending contemporary juggling, dance, and a hypnotic experience, Geometric Animal explores what happens when gestures are repeated, rhythm takes hold, and bodies seem to gradually shift into a trance-like state. Conceived and choreographed by Elsa Guérin for Studio Phantôm, this contemporary circus creation brings together Elsa Guérin and Tom Neyret on stage in a physical duet where juggling, movement, music, and geometry become different facets of a single language.

At the heart of the performance lies a singular question: what if juggling and dance shared, in their real or imagined origins, a similar relationship to trance? Elsa Guérin explores the capacity of repeated gestures, musical rhythms, and physical engagement to gradually alter our perception. The project thus evokes the ancient idea that juggling, like dance and music, may have possessed a ritualistic and sacred dimension, even a healing power, long before it became a performance art form.

To reactivate this origin, the two performers deliberately begin with extremely simple material: an elementary juggling pattern with three balls, repeated together in synchronization. This juggling sequence is answered by an oscillation of the bodies, a persistent back-and-forth movement that gradually transforms the stage. The balls trace their trajectories while the bodies move, intersect, respond to one another, and construct precise geometric forms in space.

This initial simplicity is merely a starting point. The motifs repeat, transform, and gradually become more complex, both physically and spatially. Linked as if by an invisible force, Elsa Guérin and Tom Neyret develop a two-person dynamic where each movement depends on the other. Synchronization becomes play, repetition becomes a pulse, and the perfectly controlled geometry gradually begins to produce something far more organic.

The performance thus evolves from motif to carousel, from carousel to vertigo, reaching the edge of a kind of self-abandonment. By repeatedly performing the same gestures, maintaining their trajectories, and sharing a common rhythm, the performers seem gradually swept away by their own score. The rigor of the juggling gives way to a joyful frenzy, fueled by the experience of duration, the intensity of repetition, and the physical pleasure of playing together.

Julien Vadet's sound design plays a crucial role in this. The repetitive, electronic, and progressive music is not simply background; it fully participates in the experience. Sonic pulses, body movements, and the regularity of the throws interact, creating a shared score. Juggling becomes music as much as movement, while the trajectories of the balls compose a kind of living drawing in space.

Geometric Animal also delves deeply into the relationship between two jugglers. The precision required to move together reveals the trust, listening, and complicity essential to the duo. Elsa Guérin seeks a juggling style that is not merely a demonstration of virtuosity, but a true game for two, capable of eliciting from the relationship, exhilaration, and even a certain humor.

This playful dimension is directly linked to the research that informed the creation. Elsa Guérin recalls one of the origins of the word "juggle," associated with playing, having fun, and making jokes. Behind the rigorous and almost mathematical structure of the performance, therefore, lies something profoundly alive: the pleasure of sharing a game, of being surprised by it, and of seeing how far repetition can take the performers.

The geometry suggested by the title never confines the bodies. On the contrary, it serves as a framework from which they can gradually break free. Behind the meticulously constructed lines, trajectories, and patterns emerges a more instinctive, visceral, and untamed essence. The project is driven by a desire to reveal free bodies, not through violence or chaos, but through joy, play, and a gentleness that is both whimsical and untamed.

The relationship with the audience is also an integral part of this research. The project was conceived with the desire for a close connection between the spectators and the two performers, so that everyone can feel the intensity of the performance as much as they observe it. The sound, the repeated trajectories of the balls, the movements, and the physical commitment of the artists are all designed to gradually create a sonic and vibratory environment capable of captivating the viewer's gaze. The audience is thus invited to enter into this experience of repetition and to feel this strange boundary between concentration, fascination, and vertigo.

At the crossroads of contemporary circus and dance, Animale géométrique offers a unique approach to juggling. Technique never disappears, but becomes the raw material for a choreographic and sensory exploration. A succession of throws can produce a rhythm; this rhythm can provoke movement; movement can become dance; and the repetition of this whole can ultimately transform the state of both the performers and the spectator.

Created on March 26, 2026, at L'Avant-Scène in Cognac as part of the C'est Gonflé! #3 festival, the show is a Studio Phantôm production. Elsa Guérin conceived and choreographed the piece and shares the physical performance and juggling with Tom Neyret. Julien Vittecoq provided artistic collaboration, Julien Vadet sound design, and Matthieu Rivière technical collaboration and stage management. The set design and lighting were conceived by Elsa Guérin and Matthieu Rivière. The creation was supported by OARA, L'Avant-Scène in Cognac, La Manufacture CDCN Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux-La Rochelle, Odysca in Biscarrosse, and L'Espace Périphérique in Paris-La Villette.

Suitable for audiences aged 8 and up, and lasting approximately 45 minutes, Geometric Animal is ultimately as much a juggling performance as it is an exploration of rhythm and perception. With just a few balls, two bodies, and a soundscape, Studio Phantôm transforms a basic juggling pattern into a hypnotic choreographic mechanism, then lets this mechanism spiral out of control until it becomes dizzying. A graphic, physical, and sensitive creation that reminds us that behind the technical mastery of juggling can also emerge playfulness, freedom, complicity, and the almost primal pleasure of being carried away by the rhythm.

• Page officielle du spectacle – Scène Nationale d’Albi-Tarn
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Geometric animal