THE 7 FINGERS
Les 7 doigts de la main

LOFT
The action unfolds in a loft apartment as seven close friends employ every object at their disposal - apples, shoes, bathtubs, flashlights, knives, lampshades, and even Barbie dolls - to distract themselves from the monotony of their daily lives. Soaring, somersaulting, contorting, balancing and catapulting, their ability to express themselves defies the limits of their ordinary setting, never failing to delight and surprise: One woman finds herself contorted around a tablecloth, pulled upwards toward the ceiling, eating an apple in playful reminiscence of that serpentine original sin. Another man crashes kamikaze-like against the stairs as his companions go about their daily business. One writes diligently at his desk, longing for solitude, while another finds the intimacy she yearns for within the unlikely comfort of metal chains.

Montreal’s DJ Pocket underscores mood changes throughout the evening, "mixing" the eclectic score and occasionally performing live vocals alongside members of the cast.

With its unique combination of state-of-the-art circus skills, intimate theatre, dynamic avant-garde dance, cutting-edge musical performances and live video projections, LOFT is a show that the San Francisco Bay Guardian called "an arresting visual and aural landscape that both meets and subverts our expectations of modern circus" and what the SF Weekly called "fusion cuisine for the eyes and ears." As Stephane Baillargeon of Montreal’s Le Devoir wrote, "Run to see this show, new and refreshing, before it’s too late!"

TRACES
Anticipating the worst after a whirlwind catastrophe, four guys and a girl cobble together a makeshift shelter and gather up an eclectic array of useful items: a piano and classical music scores, a basketball hoop, a stack of well-thumbed books, a rebarbative armchair, enough skateboards for the whole gang, and two tall poles for holding up the world—and for climbing, five at the time. Safeguarded in this shelter, they explore every possible way to leave their "traces" on their environment, on the audience, and on each other. Living each moment to its highest, fullest, and most intimate, they stretch the bounds of human possibility, before their time runs out.

Heloise Bourgeois, Francisco Cruz, Raphael Cruz, Brad Henderson, and Will Underwood are exceptional performers who jump from one skill to the next, interpreting each in surprising and innovative ways. By infusing their stunning acrobatic prowess with an electric urban energy, these multitalented young artists continue the tradition of the 7 Fingers into the 21st century.

The Edinburgh Guardian Unlimited predicted that TRACES "will surely make an entire generation run away and join the circus." The San Francisco Chronicle described TRACES as a "beguiling blend of breathtaking skills and imaginative rethinking of the circus arts." "A show not to be missed, TRACES is a permanent etch that celebrates eye-catching generational inventiveness," raved TorontoStage.com.

THE COMPANY
Les 7 doigts de la main translates literally as "the 7 fingers of the hand." It is a twist on a French idiom ("the five fingers of the hand") used to describe distinct, individual parts united tightly, moving in coordination towards one common goal. Here it refers to the seven directors/founding members of the company who, by combining their very distinct personalities, talents and experiences, work towards their common artistic goals, functioning with all the dexterity and beautifully awkward coordination of an unconventional and unlikely 7-fingered hand.

Les 7 doigts de la main was founded in Montreal in 2002 by seven seasoned circus performers. Shana Carroll, Isabelle Chassé, Patrick Léonard, Faon Shane, Gypsy Snider, Sébastien Soldevila, and Samuel Tétreault had worked together in such prestigious companies as Cirque du Soleil, the Cirque Eloize, Wintergarten Variety, Teatro Zinzanni, Pickle Family Circus, and Cirque Knie, or trained together at Montreal's National Circus School. Together they decided it was time to offer something new to the circus arts scene, to create a circus of an entirely different flavor.

Their initial goal was to bring circus to a human scale. They created their first production, LOFT, two short months after the official founding of the company, premiering it at Montreal's Just for Laugh's Festival in 2002. They were hailed as the surprise hit of the festival, and soon audiences everywhere were charmed by this strikingly human and unprecedented multi-disciplinary approach to circus.

In 2006, the 7 Fingers created their second production TRACES. From eclectic loft to urban bunker, the show upheld many of the guiding principles of the 7 Fingers collaborative process along with their human-sized scale and multi-disciplinary approach.

In July 2007, the 7 Fingers premiered their third show, LA VIE for an extended run in New York City's famous Spiegeltent, set up at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. This show marked the 7 Fingers’ first appearance in New York, as well as the second production performed by the original founding members, featuring this 7-fingered hand in a completely new context.

Now five years in existence, the 7 Fingers tour the world with LOFT, TRACES, and LA VIE, applying their unique brand of hands-on creativity to all ventures.

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