2013 第十五屆臺北藝術節 |

"Simply jaw-dropping." -- Le Devoir (Montreal), July 18, 2011

“...you need balls to create a contemporary circus show without all of the equipment and apparatuses circus performers usually use... the acrobatic acts tie in very well with the musical numbers.”
-- La Presse (Montreal), July 16, 2011

You can almost smell the fresh-cut pine logs and the sweat of the lumberjacks as you enjoy the performers of Cirque Alfonse rollicking to traditional music from Quebec. This young circus troupe from the village of Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez has clearly drawn upon their country roots as inspiration for this totally original creative project. TIMBER! is clearly off the beaten track. To begin with, the show’s creators have taken their inspiration directly from the woods on their real-life family farm for the design of their crazily unique acrobatic apparatus. The experience feels and smells authentic and the atmosphere is hyper- festive. This family of talented acrobats and musicians create a colourful, energized experience including epic feats of agility and strength set in a world of lumberjacks, loggers and traditional Quebec farm life. Let the festivities begin.

*Pre-show talk
30 minutes before every performance in theater lobby, conducted in Chinese

*Post-performance discussion
After the opening performance.After every performance, conduncted in French , and translated in Chinese.

Cirque Alfonse, Canada
Established in 2005, Cirque Alfonse is a fresh and innovative addition to Quebec’s circus tradition. Having worked with the most renowned “nouveau cirque” companies of Quebec and Europe, the company’s founding members are all well experienced in the circus world. Comprised of a team of professional acrobats (graduates from the National Circus School in Montréal), a professional dancer, an ex-skiing champion and three hot versatile musicians, this audacious group of young performers is blazing a creative path that no one had yet thought to explore. In an inspired look to the future with a nod to tradition, Cirque Alfonse has dared to blend the artistry and the techniques of contemporary circus with traditional Quebecois music and some of the liveliest aspects of Quebec’s traditions and folklore.

Cirque Alfonse produced its first production, La Brunante, in 2006 and the production met with enthusiastic response becoming the spark for the creation of TIMBER! Following the run of La Brunante, the company members each went off to pursue their own solo careers, performing with Sweden’s Cirkus Cirkör, Switzerland’s Cirque Starlight and Montreal’s 7 Fingers, Cirque Éloize, Cirque du Soleil, and dance company Bouge de là, before embarking on the creation of TIMBER! in 2010.

Acrobat    Antoine Carabinier Lépine
Antoine received his diploma from the École nationale de cirque de Montréal in the year 2000. A multidisciplinary artist and virtuoso, he excels on the German wheel, the Cyr wheel, the Ladder, general acrobatics, juggling and music. Over the past 11 years, Antoine has collaborated on numerous shows and artistic projects including: Nomade and Cirque Orchestra by Cirque Éloize, Cirkus Cirkör’s show 99% Unknown, the Cirque du Soleil’s Celebrity Cruise Project, Maskarade by the Copenhagen Royal Opera and Traces by the 7 Fingers (Les 7 doigts de la Main).

Acrobat    Jonathan Casaubon
From the age of 7 Jonathan has been somersaulting and perfecting his flips in the family garden. From a very young age, Jonathan was a regular at his neighbourhood gymnastics club, and within a few years of coaching he was able to reach competitive levels. He went on to practice this discipline for the next 10 years of his life.

Soon after obtaining his diploma in 2000 from the École nationale de cirque de Montréal, specializing in teeterboard and trampoline, Jonathan flew off to Switzerland to teach circus arts before joining the Starlight Circus as a performer and as the Assistant to the Artistic Director for 4 years. Jonathan then joined the Cirque du Soleil where he developed into a highly regarded multidisciplinary artist. In 2007, he participated in the Salto Natale show of the prestigious Swiss circus Knie and he later collaborated on the show Traces show presented by the 7 Fingers (Les 7 doigts de la main).

Acrobat    Matias Salmenaho
Matias Salmenaho is what you would call a truly international circus artist. Since growing up in Finland, he has lived and worked in many  countries around the world including France, Spain, Argentina, Brasil and Dubai, performing in a wide variety of venues. Matias is renowned for his versatile circus skills, especially for his acrobatics and juggling. While running he´s own circus company, Circus Ruska, in Finland, Matias also finds time to perform with other circus companies such as Cirque Aital, Cirkus Cirkör and Les 7 doigts de la main.   

Dancer    Julie Carabinier Lépine
Julie hails from the town of Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez. At the age of 8 she was initiated into the world of classical ballet, and later became fascinated by modern dance and theatre. She signed up for the LADMMI contemporary dance school, where in 2003 she received her diploma in contemporary dance interpretation. She went on to dance for noted choreographers Sonia Biernath, Manuel Roque, Mélanie Demers, Amélie Lévesque Demers and for the dance company Bouge de là with Hélène Langevin, as well as the Mandala Sitù company. Julie developed a passion for Argentinean Tango and lovesd to sing...until she joined the circus In 2007, and embarked on a European tour with the Swiss circus company Salto Natale. Since then, Julie has participated in several other projects.

Performer    Alain Carabinier
Alain was born in Switzerland and his early years were busy with competitive alpine skiing and soccer. He travelled, performed and worked around the world before settling down in Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, where he actively participates in the community life of this small town of the Lanaudière region of Québec. Alain is a soccer trainer and a designer of circus shows that really showcase the immense talent of the young circus performers of the troupe.

Music    Josianne Laporte
Josianne started studying and practicing classic percussion at the age of 8. Upon receiving her diploma in Music from the Université du Québec à Montréal in 2001, she went on to tour with musicians Gino Vanelli, Dan Bigras and Isabelle Boulay. For 5 years, she travelled around the world as a musician in Cirque Éloize’s show Nomade. Over the last several years, Josianne has gained much experience in numerous television shows. She was also part of the music group François Roy et les As de la Frime, an up-and-coming rock group that received second prize at the Festi Rock Festival of Richmond. In 2006, she participated in creating Cirque Alfonse’s La Brunante show.

Music    David Simard
David was born in Lac St-Jean. He is an instrumentalist specialized in traditional music from Quebec. In 2010, he obtained his diploma in jazz guitar and then, improved his tech- nique in traditional music at CEGEP régional de Lanaudière in Joliette. He juggles styles between jazz and old fiddler tunes, playing them just as well on a banjo, a guitar, a dobro, or a violin.

Music    André Gagné
André is a musician and singer from the Lanaudière region of the province of Quebec. This region has been named “the national capital of call and response singing”. He studied Jazz Guitar In Montreal. He is a founding member of the traditional Quebecois music group “La Giroflée”, with whom he has travelled on tour throughout his native Quebec as well as in Europe, with their recent album J’ai dans la mémoire. In 2006, André participated in creating the first circus show of the troupe Alfonse, La Brunante, including the musical arrangements. Now he is very pleased to join the Alphonse team once again for its latest opus, Timber !

Music and Composer    David Boulanger
David studied violin and jazz interpretation in Montreal before joining the traditional music group La part du quêteux, a show which won the Best Album award for Traditional Music at the Folk Canadian Music Awards in 2007. He went on to work with the famous Quebec group La Bottine souriante as a violinist. He joined the Cirque Alfonse in 2006.

Director   Alain Francoeur
Alain has a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts from, earned at the Université du Québec à Montréal in 1986. He first worked as a dance artist and as an actor in experimental theatre before moving on to becoming a director and choreographer. Alain is interested in the interdisciplinary aspects of art and of the performing arts in his artistic development and creativity. In 1988, he joined the celebrated theatre troupe Carbonne 14 as a performance artist in their show called Le Dortoir. He later danced for several other companies. Alain directed the well-loved show Cirque Orchestra by Cirque Éloize, and he also created choreographies for several dance troupes, among them L’Agora de la danse of Montréal. He also directed Cirque Alfonse’s La Brunante show.

Lighting and Stage Designer    Nicolas Descôteaux
Since the day he received his diploma from the theatre program of the Cégep de Sainte-Thérèse college in 1992, Nicolas has designed more than sixty lighting creations. He has worked with internationally renowned creators and artists such as Robert Lepage, Marie Chouinard, Kristian Fredric, Denis Marleau and Daniele Finzi Pasqua. Recently, Nicolas worked on several creative projects with the Cirque Eloize and the Cirque du Soleil.

Produced by    Cirque Alfonse
Acrobats    Antoine Carabinier Lépine, Jonathan Casaubon and Matias Salmenaho
Dancer    Julie Carabinier Lépine
Performer    Alain Carabinier
Music    Josianne Laporte, David Boulanger, André Gagné and David Simard
Director    Alain Francoeur
Composer    David Boulanger and David Simard
Lighting and Stage Designer    Nicolas Descôteaux

Cirque Alfonse is represented by John Lambert & Assoc. (Montreal) www.johnlambert.ca.