French circus is showing human-powered performances without ropes, safety harnesses or nets.
France's"Company X-Y" has been called Rock'n'Roll Circus, with impressive acrobatic displays and incredible feats of human strength.
The first time you see Compagnie XY's performers take to the air, you might wonder how much danger they are in.
The circus troupe's high-flying, human-powered performances have taken it around the world, without ropes, safety harnesses or nets.The show, says production director Peggy Donck, is aimed at pushing the boundaries of what the human body can do.
It might be a four-person tower, standing on each other's shoulders or an upside-down pirouette on someone's head five metres above the audience.Following tours in Europe, the Americas and Japan, the troupe has travelled to Australia for the first time, performing as part of the Perth Festival.
The show, which translates as It's Not Yet Midnight, starts as an onstage brawl but turns into a story of trust between the individuals, with the performances becoming more daring as the show goes on.
Perth Festival artistic director Wendy Martin says she was ecstatic when the group agreed to perform at this year's event.
"When I sat in Rennes in France and I saw this show, immediately it spoke to my heart and I knew people would love it. Not only are they extraordinary acrobats, but that show is really about trust.
I mean, acrobatics is about trust. You throw someone up as high in the air as those guys go, and you've got to trust someone's going to catch you." she said.
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