This December we were in residence at La Cascade, in Bourg‑Saint‑Andéol, as part of the Pôle National Cirque. A clean, direct workspace, ideal for detailed testing. There we continued work on Dame du Cirque, and for the first time rehearsed with the Sherpa collection costumes designed by Miriam Ponsa.
The Sherpa collection is inspired by the porters and guides of the Himalayas. It features themes like load, terrain, climate, resilience, and living with limits. The body is central: how it moves, how it supports, how it endures. That resonated with us immediately. Dame du Cirque also builds on these tensions. It’s about a body in an extreme situation, a physical memory, an environment that both weighs and supports.
Miriam’s pieces use materials that evoke all this without literalizing it: thick wool, quilted textures, layers overlapping like paths, and textures referencing the land. We were keen to see how they performed on stage. And we could test them— in motion, in light, in rhythm.
We were able to rehearse wearing the costumes. That let us see how they moved with the body: whether sleeves got in the way, whether the weight of the pieces affected movement, or if an opening needed adjusting to breathe better. We liked that they were warm and complex; they added a texture reminiscent of the high mountains. They made us sweat, and it showed on stage. The effort was visible. We didn’t decide from an idea, but from practice. The residency gave us the time to test specific things and make decisions on every detail.
Thank you to Miriam Ponsa for trusting us and sharing such a vibrant collection. And thank you to La Cascade for hosting us and providing a genuine workspace.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.