« In daylight, we unconsciously search for images lost in dreams. When we uncover the vestiges of a dream, we're touched by a profound sense of déjà vu and say just seeing it makes us dream. »

- Salvador Dali

Word from the Director

The imagery in my work springs from an unusual source: the collective memory of my ancestors, the history to which I belong. In my productions, I let my unconscious breathe life into the characters populating the family album I inherited. My memory is filled with places I've never seen, faces I've never met. Yet thanks to the stories my grandmother told me, these are people and places I know dearly.

In the great journey of life, we are all nomads. We wander from one love to the next, from one sorrow to the next. Yet in this journey, some of us travel light. Some sleep under the stars with the moon as their pillow. For them, it all becomes so clear: at night, the sky is endless.

What's more, we are all storytellers. We tell tales to leave behind a legacy, to unravel the world's secrets, to spark the curiosity of a sleepy child. Storytelling is a way to explore the corners of our memory and even to change our destiny.

Like nomads, circus performers live life as one long journey. The tales they tell are often wild and whimsical and sometimes hauntingly melancholic. Each time they set up camp, they launch into a new story. The singing, the celebrations, and the silence that finally cloaks the night reveal to them something miraculous and consoling: That they are home once again.

This tribute to nomads conveys the frenzy of their celebrations, the mysteries of their rituals, and the passion with which they carve out their destinies. With its spirited rhythm and vivid images, this story will awaken your wandering spirit and meander unconsciously through your dreams.

Daniele Finzi Pasca
Author and Director

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

2005: GEMINI AWARD

Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program or Series (Troupe).

2006 : Yorkton short film Festival

In the category entitled "Performing Arts/Entertainment"

2005: GEMINI AWARDS

• Best Variety Special or Stage Arts Special (Pierre L. Touchette, Alain Simard)
• Best Direction in a Performing Arts Program or Series (Pierre Seguin)
• Best Montage: Humour, Variety, Stage Arts (Patrice Bonenfant, François Bonnelly).

2005 : PRIX GÉMEAUX

"Meilleur spécial de variétés ou des arts de la scène" and "Meilleur montage humour, variétés, arts de la scène".

Cirque Éloize sincerely thanks and acknowledges the numerous persons and companies who have contributed to the creation and success of Nomade. Cirque Éloize would particularly like to thank:

Its commissionners: the City of Trois-Rivières, a faithful partner for many years, CAL Performances (Berkeley University, US) and the Barbican Theatre of London (UK).

Its partners: the Government of Quebec through Le Ministère de la Culture et des Communications, Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport and le Conseil des arts et des lettres; la Caisse d'Économie Desjardins de la Culture; la Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) and Investissement Québec.