Gender Bias In Movement 

Deconstructing N.ormes with Adrien of Agathe and Adrien 

By Lauren Ormond

The work the acrobatic duo Agathe and Adrien do and the art they create onstage is nothing short of breathtaking. So it came as a surprise to me, when I sat down yo interview Adrien, that while trust is a very pivotal part of their partnership as performers, it is built on the foundation and backbone of constant communication both on and offstage. 

“When we work, we have to have a really precise communication to be able to build that trust that allows us to do those moves. Not just the physical endeavor, but to tour with each other, to spend that much time with each other, and to do shows. We need to have really good communication and hold the space as well as we can to be able to be vulnerable without hurting each other, and doing those acrobatics also without hurting each other.” 

The pair met at the Circus School of Quebec, from which they graduated in 2018. They have been performing together since then, first in well established circus companies. However, they soon found themselves turning away from these more traditional systems in order to flourish creatively. Adrien recalled one such anecdote during our interview. 

“We were playing Adam and Eve in a big show. And for the finale of the act, we proposed a trick that is me standing on Agathe's head. When the producers saw it, they said, 'Oh, that's cool. But that's not really what we had in mind.' Because in their imagination and reality, it's not a final move to have the woman basing. It needs to be the guy that lifts. And that concludes the love story. And we said, 'Okay, we're gonna do a lift. I'm gonna lift her.' But when we arrived to the premiere, we just said to ourselves, ‘Oh, no, let's switch it, and still do me standing on Agathe's head.' And we did it. And the public was surprised, but super happy.” 

The piece they will present at the Festival and that they are currently touring the United States with, N.Ormes, centers itself around those issues, the implicit biases within gender and sex, and how they manifest in both the circus community and in artistic movement as a whole. Throughout the performance, the duo go about deconstructing these norms through their craft. Traditionally, the male counterpart is the base, the one who is doing the lifting. 

“At the beginning, it was always me that was lifting.” Adrien explains. “On the same side, Agathe was smaller, but really strong. And she had more of the base mindset of wanting to push herself and lift more. So we asked ourselves, ‘Oh, what's keeping us in those roles?’”

It was that question that shapes the meaning of N.Ormes. They began mixing and changing movements, and found implicit differences there as well. Adrien, the taller of the two at six feet, lifts 70% of his weight when he is the base for Agathe, who stands at five feet tall. When she lifts, she lifts double that at 140% of her weight. This raised questions of not only equality, but of equity. 

“So we try to apply this in every part of the creation, what role we take as a character. Is it based on the male stereotype or female stereotype? And how can we mix them together? How can we find what fits our character more than just our gender or our physical appearance?” 

It is an introduction to new and re-imagined hand to hand acrobatics that both acknowledge and break those boundaries. Adrien describes them as allowing oneself to not be prisoner to the roles we’ve been assigned, as well as the roles we assign ourselves as we move through the world. He hopes that that will be a portion of the many thoughts and revelations audiences will carry with them after seeing N.Ormes. 

“It’s a piece that wants to liberate people of their preconceptions and try to shake those preconceptions. Just ask yourself what happens if we mix up the roles, as we do it in hand to hand. Those same processes can be applied anywhere in your life.” 

In addition to N.Ormes, the duo will be leading a workshop Monday May 5th at Circus Center’s Theater, located at 755 Frederick street. It will take place from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.