The giant puppet company Les Grandes People will be the stars of the Lyon dance biennale parade. – C. Girardon / 20 Minutes
- The dance Biennale parade will take place this year on the stage of the Fourvière theater, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- The giant puppet company Les Grandes People will present a show lasting seven to ten minutes between each group.
- “20 Minutes” went to meet these curious characters but also all those who are responsible for bringing them to life.
They each have a name, a story, a different skin color. They are called: Manon, Anouk, Cherokee, Mafesso or even “KS” like Kylian Souleymane, as a nod to Mbappé. “They”? These are the nine giant puppets of the company
The big people, some manufactured in Burkina Faso and others in France. For now, they are resting in the workshops of the former Fagor factory in Lyon while waiting for the big day. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they will be the common thread of the parade.
of the dance biennial, which will take place in the setting of the ancient theater of Fourvière.
The company will present a show lasting seven to ten minutes between each group visit. For this, she joined forces with the choreographer Bouba Landrille Tchouda, in charge of making the giants dance. A “modest role”, he assures us. A major challenge in reality because the task is not easy. Each puppet measures between 3.70m and 4m and weighs over 20 kilos. Used to wandering, this time they will have to evolve “fixedly” in a small space while maintaining their fluidity.
“Each puppet has its specificity”
“Sometimes there is a difference between what I saw and what I understood when I approached them. We must take into account their volume. The movements are not as fast as I wanted, ”smiles the dancer. Hence the need to find the trick to preserve the grace of the characters without ridiculing them.
“Each puppet has its specificity. Manon, for example, cannot run. It was necessary to imagine for her lateral movements, “slips Bouba, anxious to” humanize “these giants with tender gaze or eyes sparkling with mischief. “The objective is to get the spectator to think that he is no longer dealing with puppets but with beings who have a heart”, continues the choreographer while Pauline De Coulhac, director, fine-tunes a few settings. .
“We have fun as if we were 14 years of mental age, she lets out with a burst of laughter while gazing at her charges. It is out of the question to dress the puppets in clothes that you would not wear in life ”. While the working atmosphere is good, the teams are working hard to prepare for the show. The organizers of the biennial have called on the services of the training center for people in integration. Anepa springboard, with which she has worked for twenty years.
Volunteers at the helm
“Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do it, they are an integral part of the adventure,” adds Pauline. Volunteers are not just responsible for making costumes, sets or props. They will have the opportunity to participate directly in the show, either by dancing on stage among the giants, or by carrying the puppets. Mohammed has just made the first tests. “It’s a total revelation, he confides radiant. It’s crazy because at the beginning, I was not motivated, I did not want to come. There, I learn a lot of things and above all, I feel useful ”.
At his side, Hadjira, Aïcha and Kahina are all also dithyrambic, driven by collective energy. “The team is really great. Here, we feel in family ”, confides the first. “We didn’t necessarily have confidence in ourselves before coming. We needed people to push us. Today, we are discovering skills, qualities ”, adds Kahina,“ astonished ”also by the fact of having animated one of the giants.
“I had never participated in a parade before, I did not even know and the idea would not have occurred to me, continues Hadjira. We would never have been able to meet professionals and discover this universe. Now it makes me want to participate in another parade. “But also to dance on D-Day,” she concludes with a broad smile.