"My Kingdom For a Horse": How the Folies Grüss Illuminates French Circus History

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“My Kingdom For a Horse”: How the Folies Grüss Illuminates French Circus History

Built from classical techniques and a family’s long legacy of work with horses, the Folies Grüss stand apart as a return and tribute to the equestrian traditions that gave birth to the circus of today. Now in 2022, Pascal Jacob journeys through the history of La Compagnie Alexis Grüss and helps us experience its latest show.

Founded in 1974 at the initiative of actress Silvia Monfort and riding master Alexis Grüss, Le Cirque à l’Ancienne is considered a pioneer of therenovation of circus arts that was initiated in the late 1960s. Designed for an exhibition at the Musée en Herbe of the Jardin d’Acclimatation to celebrate the bicentenary of Philip Astley’s first stay in France, the Cirque’s success was such that all the partners involved decided to extend the venture. This troupe, in a Moliéresque sense—and this is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the extraordinary cohesion felt in its ring—-would settle successively between the columns of the peristyle of the Hotel Salé in the Marais district, currently the site of the Picasso museum, and between the trees of Chautemps Ssquare in front of the Gaité-Lyrique theater, before settling in the former slaughterhouses of Vaurigard for several years. Alexis Grüss and Silvia Monfort are also behind one of the first two circus schools in the Western world, created in 1974. Originally installed in the spaces of the Gaîté-Lyrique theatre (now dedicated to new technologies), L’Ecole au Carré is one entity of the Nouveau Carré Silvia Monfort, promptly named “Centre d’animation culturelle de Paris.”  

The founding principle of La Compagnie Alexis Grüss, as the troupe is named today, oscillates between the free reconstition of the equestrian and acrobatic exercises of 19th century circus, inspired in particular by careful readings of prints from the period, and its capitalization on the shared knowledge held by every member of a circus family. Alexis Grüss and his father André, wife Gypsy, sisters Martine and Bella, and brother Patrick together built the first skeleton of the Cirque à l’Ancienne—an art form based on classical codes of representation in circus—but proclaimed their company’s work as firmly rooted in its own time, affirming the simplicity of its costumes and the purity of its gestures as reappropriations of the elegance and virtuosity of its origins, assumed as a form of modernity. The Cirque à l’Ancienne created a profound break in style from the so-called traditional circus of the 1970s, most notably through its predominance of equestrian acts sosingularly forgotten by most travelling companies in France. By placing horses and horsemanship at the heart of the project, the Grüss family announced the brilliant comeback of the most beautiful conquest of circus and foreshadowed the Zingaro Equestrian Theatre and the Centaur Theatre, respectively created in 1986 and 1989. 

The horse symbolizes the origin of the circus ring itself and is a large contributor to conditioning the evolution of forms, spectacular registers, repertoire, andcircassien vocabulary throughout the 19th century. By building the frame of every show for almost fifty years around this emblematic animal, the Grüss company has asserted its attachment to historyand paid tribute to the classical essence of circus as was created by Phillip Astley in 1768. But it has also combined the mastery of family practice with an aesthetic and technical design that resonates as a manifesto in favor of a circus detached from all the dross that had been cluttering it for nearly a century. Very quickly, Alexis Grüss set the company’s standard of an annual creation based on a theme that allowed him to develop new numbers by gradually associating his children with students of the Ecole au Carré. Shows likeParis-Beijing,From Lautrec to Picasso,Banquistes, andGypsy are all ways to revitalize a somewhat erased historical memory and  explore new territories wherein the integration of scenographic elements and a particular care toward costume design  are both essential. 

2024 will mark 50 years since the Grüss troupe passionately dug themselves this creative groove, and their Folies fit well into this long continuum of representations. Choosing to go under their tent is to accept going back in time without fear or nostalgia, but with a hint of curiosity. There is something both strange and joyful about being greeted by a rider on a long red carpet that stretches under century-old trees! 

The Folies Grüss are located at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, west of Paris, on a vast plot that looks like a clearing. For several seasons now, the Grüss family has built out the concept of the Folies Grüss as an immersive experience that unfolds over three sequences within an equestrian, musical and acrobatic universe. A tent village installed for several months a year becomes the setting for a dinner full of attractions, a complete show, and a time of conviviality at the end of the performance. It is the “Grüss blue,” a color that has long been privileged to decorate the company trucks, the canvas Big Top, and the curtains, drapes and ceilings, that dominates the place and makes it feel both elegant and warm. 

Lunch or Dinner is a real and charming prelude to the main show where guests gathere around trays of oysters; burgers that look like deep red mushrooms; or excellent Fish and Chips, accompanied by musicians and a singer. This food tasting is also punctuated by acts offered by the members of the troupe. The festive ambiance conditions the spectators to appreciate the show to come. 

After a smooth transition through a tunnel draped in blue velvet, visitors spend  most of the evening captivated by the atmosphere emanating from this round big top tent, where a trail covered with topsoil and sawdust has been carefully raked and aerated by a horse-pulled harrow, a delicate recreation of the classic playground resembling a Japanese dry garden.  

One characteristic element of the Grüss circus is its reliance on a live orchestra to create a real sound dimension and give a very particular rhythm to each sequences of the performance. Candice Parise, a singer known to the French public for performing her interpretation of the national anthem at the annual July 14 parade earlier this year, adds an additional musical stratum with great force and elegance. 

Elegance, precisely, is another characteristic of the company’s equestrian creations, which draw inspiration from ancient engravings while also adaptingthe evolutions of horses to modern or contemporary musical tones. The Grüss business dynasty of working with horses dates back to 1854, a line of strength that symbolizes the powerful connections between men and their animal partners. Every show since Le Cirque à l’Ancienne’s founding in 1974 has been, as overseen by Alexis Grüss, a real creation. The troupe, solidly comprised of 24 artists and 50 horses, rehearses for months, or sometimes even years, to develop a particularly complex equestrian number, and when everything is ready from a technical point of view, composer, arranger and costume designer enter the scene and play, creating the scores and wardrobe. For several years now, Alexis Grüss has been using theTailleur de Rêves workshop, an entity of the Dragone group based in La Louvière, to help this process. This season’s costumes were designed by Nicolas Vaudelet, a French stylist who created the latest Lido show,Paris Merveilles, directed by the late Franco Dragone in Paris. 

In fact, beyond an analysis of each number that composes it, the only thing that really needs to be remembered from this show is that it is absolutely unique! Nowhere else in the world you can attend an equestrian presentation on this level. For decades, the Grüsses have been living, breathing, eating, working and sleeping to the rhythm of their horses, creatures that Alexis Grüss almost does not consider animals so much as partners—companions of life with whom every moment is shared. (At the risk of paraphrasing the filmFunny Bones, we could probably describe the Grüss troupe asHorse Bones.) And, of course, this unique fusion is perceptible in every minute of the performance. There is no family today able to reproduce the figures of 19th-century equestrian repertoire with such ease and mastery. From one season to the next, the Grüss draw from this vast pool of forms and compose their programs according to the artists available in terms of their technical nature. 

This year, they returned to a discipline very fashionable in the 1860s: jockey work. This specialty consists of jumping onto a galloping horse, with no support except for the speed and propulsion force of the rider. It is a subtle play between momentum and balance, knowing that the horse’s moving back further complicates the feat. Standing jumps, with one, two or three riders, separately or simultaneously; stick jumps; and balancing on one leg are the basic vocabulary of these fast, spectacular numbers. 

The troupe concludes the show withThe Pyramids, another forgotten performancethat is made up of an advance of five horses and a dozen acrobats who stand with one foot on each horse, divided into three lines stacked on top of one another. The first consists of four people, and the second, of three more mounted on the first line’s shoulders, with the man in the middle also carrying on his shoulders the last performer in balance at the top. The pyramid is thus created, and advances at the regular trot of heavy horsemen

These two numbers alone could be reason enough to come and discover the Folies Grüss, provided, of course, a love of horses and a curiousity about jumping back in time to relive an evening at the Cirque des Champs Elysées around 1860. If this is the case for you, then you will experience an exceptional night, with moments that can sometimes even make you feel dizzy: the moment the first horse gallops into the ring, it is the whole history of the circus that is embodied. This feeling must be similar to the dazzlement that spectators in London felt on Monday, April 4, 1768, when they had gathered to see Philip Astley standing on a beautiful white horse. One can only imagine it as a sunny spring day…

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The Show is running until the 6th of March 2023. For more information about tickets, visit the company's website. / All images are courtesy of Folies Grüss.

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Pascal Jacob
Designer, Artistic Director and Historian -FRANCE
After completing university studies in performing arts at Université de Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle, Pascal Jacob, over the course of ten years, developed a career as associate director for the opera. He then concentrated on costume and set design and artistic direction.
The circus has long been a passion and his interest for this singular form of live performance has led him to create costumes most notably Rainforest and Living Carousel for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Salto Natale for Rolf Knie, Au pays des clowns for Cirque Phénix. He also created the costumes and the set designs of Barnum’s Kaleidoscape for Feld Entertainment as well as those of India for Prime Time Entertainment. Of late, working as an artistic scout and creative director, he contributed to the development of several projects for Dragone Entertainment Group. As such, he was artistic director and production designer for Odyseo, the Chemistry of Dreams celebrating the 150 years of the Solvay group, and for the Dai Show for Dragone Entertainment Group in Xishuangbanna in China. Last year, he was involved as production designer and artistic director for the creation of Era The Spirit of Shanghai in the Shanghai Circus World permanent building.
Alongside his work in design, Pascal acts as art consultant for the Européenne de Spectacles, artistic director for Cirque Phénix as well as for the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. He is also lecturer in the history of the circus for the Montreal National Circus School and the Fratellini Academy in Saint-Denis.

By tirelessly collecting all things pertaining to the circus arts through the ages, he has worked as exhibition curator for many museums in Europe and in America, collaborating with many institutions such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Tohu in Montréal. He has published more than forty books as well as numerous articles dedicated to the circus, the zoo, and the opera, he also lectures on these topics.

He was born, lives and works notably in Paris.
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Pascal Jacob

After completing university studies in performing arts at Université de Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle, Pascal Jacob, over the course of ten years, developed a career as associate director for the opera. He then concentrated on costume and set design and artistic direction. The circus has long been a passion and his interest for this singular form of live performance has led him to create costumes most notably Rainforest and Living Carousel for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Salto Natale for Rolf Knie, Au pays des clowns for Cirque Phénix. He also created the costumes and the set designs of Barnum’s Kaleidoscape for Feld Entertainment as well as those of India for Prime Time Entertainment. Of late, working as an artistic scout and creative director, he contributed to the development of several projects for Dragone Entertainment Group. As such, he was artistic director and production designer for Odyseo, the Chemistry of Dreams celebrating the 150 years of the Solvay group, and for the Dai Show for Dragone Entertainment Group in Xishuangbanna in China. Last year, he was involved as production designer and artistic director for the creation of Era The Spirit of Shanghai in the Shanghai Circus World permanent building. Alongside his work in design, Pascal acts as art consultant for the Européenne de Spectacles, artistic director for Cirque Phénix as well as for the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain. He is also lecturer in the history of the circus for the Montreal National Circus School and the Fratellini Academy in Saint-Denis. By tirelessly collecting all things pertaining to the circus arts through the ages, he has worked as exhibition curator for many museums in Europe and in America, collaborating with many institutions such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Tohu in Montréal. He has published more than forty books as well as numerous articles dedicated to the circus, the zoo, and the opera, he also lectures on these topics. He was born, lives and works notably in Paris.