Zingaro by Bartabas

Made in France.

Programming / Circus, Music & Dance.

Absolutely, I will manage to stay in the Christmas spirit until December 25th.
From the 26th, I no longer promise. Want to bet?

So Zingaro by Bartabas, made in France – if you’re hoping to buy overly stylish men’s clothes, you’re out of luck.
Zingaro is the name of the company.
Bartabas is the chief artist.

And the major artists of the Zingaro company’s shows are the horses.

When they came to our theatre – no, but seriously, I’m going to end up rambling on about my memories, being there like a stuck idiot trying to remember the most beautiful shows I’ve ever seen – well, never mind – it was quite a tralala to set them up.

The whole theatre turned into a giant, ultra-luxury stable – ultra-luxury for the horses. There was hay everywhere. We had to cover the main stage with a kind of flake, something between tar and sand. When we came out of there, we had random black traces, under the eyes, in the pockets, on the legs, behind the neck. These poor beasts were obviously not there to stay locked up in their improvised boxes – and here we are taking them out on the theatre square – beware, they were more precious than the eyes of the Grande Mademoiselle and the diamonds of Callas. The local children were delighted – but the order was: no touching – no shouting: take care of the kings was the rule.

I am telling you all this, because I know that there are people, who know nothing but meddle in everything, who scream about animal abuse. So the horses of the Zingaro company, not only are they not mistreated – but they also look so, so happy: you know when the head rises, when the tail wags, when the ears are well pricked and it seems that they are going to laugh, all of them, with their pretty eyes that start to shine: that’s what you see when you see the horses and their squires “working”.

Of course – you even know that, don’t you? – the shows imagined by Bartabas aren’t horses that go around in circles and who? besides, nobody knows frankly what they’re doing there, except to prove that their riders are aces.
No – the horse participates: well, he is the heart, the “central point”.

I saw the absolutely incredible show where there was, on one side of the stage, a flamenco singer, and on the other side the horse dancing to the song, with Bartabas almost invisible to the animal.
It was incredibly touching.

In fact, Bartabas shows us the emotions of this so intelligent animal, he allows us to share that and it becomes pure magic.

So, when we talk about magic and Christmas spirit, and the animals that unite with men, inevitably I think of the prowess of the Zingaro company.

Well… I won the bet for tonight – yes, I stayed in the Christmas spirit – and for next Christmas, if you see Zingaro posters, remember to go & see them with the children you love. They’ll come out of there with hearts full of joy and happiness.

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Featured Image : from Ex Anima – by the Zingaro Company – Bartabas.