PSY: LES 7 DOIGTS DE LA MAIN'S NEW SHOW KICKS OFF

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When you think of the Circus and Montreal, no doubt your thoughts first turn to Cirque du Soleil. But a huge reason that Cirque has become such an international success is that it got its start in Quebec, a province long filled with skilled circus performers. And from November 18–20 in Montreal, you can experience how another circus company approaches their craft, when Les 7 Doigts de la main’s “Psy” returns to the stage due to popular demand…

The best way to explain how big the circus arts are in Quebec is to just explain where the show is being held: Tohu. Since being established in 2004, La TOHU has become one of the largest gathering places for circus arts training, creation, production and performance. It is also a truly spectacular building that I’d recommend you go see, even if there wasn’t a great show being held there…

Les 7 Doigts de la Main – PSY from Ben Philippi on Vimeo.

…but there is a great show being held there this weekend. The people putting it on are from Les 7 Doigts de la main, which means “the 7 fingers of the hand”, a play on a French saying that describes separate parts moving in unison. Since 2002, this Montreal-based company has contributed to several Olympic ceremonies and put on a series of incredibly and increasingly popular performances in venues around the world.

Psy is their fourth original show and in it they attempt to build and explore the bridges between the acrobatics of the mind, body and soul. 7 Doigts, who are known for adding a rich theatrical element to their shows, use the human psyche to explore not only “insomnia, addiction, amnesia, paranoia and hypochondria” but “juggling, Chinese pole, German wheel, aerial rope and teeterboard.” In short, this not some circus with a tired old clown and a caged tiger just trying to get through the night. This what the circus can be when put in the hands of skilled artists determined to take their artistry to the next level…

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