Alexandre Calder’s Circus
American artist born in Pennsylvania in 1898, died in 1976.
Calder has always worked with his hands and with metal.
At age 28 he creates his famous circus of articulated wire performers. He also does a lot of gouache, drawings, oil paintings, jewelry… and mobiles that lead him to the monumental and the mobile sculpture.
1st day
> The Circle and the animal world
What does the circus represent in children’s imaginative universe?
Sitting in a circular space, the children learn to get to know each other through games, (circulation of first names, ages…). They enter the circle of the circus (ex: bush telegraph using spoken word, sound, corporal expression, “le cadavre exquis” “the exquisite cadaver”, mime…) stories arise, memories, desires, dreams.
The children enter the ring. They fill the space in a circle, a half circle, they dance around in a circle: circulation of gestures, emotions, rhythm, words; swaying game, drawing of a circle with bodies, hoops, pirouettes, with the balls balanced on the nose, the head…
Large pieces of cardboard are placed on the ground to form a circle at the center of the studio.
Each one chooses a box filled with paint and takes a tennis ball. They set themselves up in front of a piece of cardboard. When the music starts the children dip their ball in the color and represent circularity according to the music. They interpret the sounds and rhythm according to the concept of the circle, of the space, of juggling, of ricochet, of splashing, of bouncing.
Lunch
Laying down for a short nap, the children enter the animal world of the circus through dreams. Blindfolded, they place themselves within the space, in relation to the others, to noises… they become aware of space, volume.
Each child is transformed into an animal, a monster.
He tries his hand at his performance in his movements, through the game of strength, of gravity, of agility, of speed, of carelessness, … they express themselves by roaring, barking, whistling …
We then start making animal sculptures, with salvaged materials, diverse kinds of material, furs
2nd day:
> The Line and the mobile
During a fishing game, the children sitting in a circle catch words as if they were fish, that they thread onto another line carrying their nascent story, They start games testing their sense of balance, with a taught line, in movement, in rhythm; the line becomes an obstacle, a barrier, a labyrinth, a spiral; swinging games, acrobatic games, on the lines of the space where the children tightrope walkers fantasize on the threads, strings, …
With boxes, they build magical instruments with musical chords and then make line drawings and sculptures of acrobats with wire and papier-mâché.
Lunch
Laying down for a short nap the children enter through dreams the suspended world of the circus.
Blindfolded, they place themselves within space, they imagine that they are flying, turning round, doing pirouettes, swinging
Each child is transformed into a trapeze artist, a bird, a monkey
They wander on ethereal music, drum rolls, … they fly, set off… on parades, pirouettes…
Amidst the tall trees of the park, together we build a big mobile with pieces of branches, leaves, string, wire…
3rd day
> The performance
The children enter the world of laughter, they imagine tricks, jokes, gags, acts and become mimes, clowns, making faces, caricatures.
They mimic the dwarf, the gimp, the giant, the comic attitude….
(exercises around laughter, repetition, exaggeration, distortion of voice, noise, silences, music).
After lunch, together we imagine the show and the sequence of the acts
The rehearsals begin.
We invent a song, build a box office and make tickets, we paint our t-shirts ... right up until the performance for the parents |