 FLORENCE POT “I don’t make any distinction between the acrobatic and the artistic. Acrobatics is as much an art as the visual arts. Through my work I contribute to the acrobats’ discovery of themselves as artists.” A gymnast at the age of six, Florence Pot completed her university degree in physical education in France and went on to specialize in sports psychology. She decided to move to Montreal in 1991 primarily to continue her academic career. She studied for her master's degree in sports psychology at the University of Montreal while working as a coach at Gymnix, a club, where Bernard Petiot, who is now Vice President, Casting and Performance at Cirque du Soleil, was working. She returned to France two years later to choreograph performances for the French Gymnastics Federation. Motivated by a lack of professional challenges in France and a strong desire to work at Cirque du Soleil, Florence came back to Canada in 1997 to work in a variety of capacities, including helping three Canadian gymnasts prepare for the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the same time she renewed and enlarged her network of contacts at Cirque du Soleil . One year later she accepted a position scouting acrobatic talent for the Cirque's casting department and in 2003 she became chief scout. In 2006 she accepted the invitation to become Acrobatic Performance Designer on ZED because she wanted to get closer to the creation process and to see one show all the way through from start to finish. Florence Pot says her role on ZED allows her to combine her two main areas of interest – acrobatics and artistic expression. “I don’t make any distinction between the acrobatic and the artistic,” she adds. “Acrobatics is as much an art as the visual arts. Through my work I contribute to the acrobats’ discovery of themselves as artists. What interests me is the emotion that the acrobat is projecting on stage. Some acrobats are natural artists, others need training to reveal themselves. That's where I come in." “To achieve the balance we were looking for, we sought circus artists as well as acrobats with a background in sports," she explains. “I chose, together with the director of creation, disciplines from circus traditions and experts of the highest caliber. The choice of acts, including bungee, lasso, banquine, trampoline-poles, high wire and hand to hand, bears witness to this approach and our desire to escape the beaten path. ZED is an operatic, lyrical, choreographic and cinematic show. The director, Francois Girard, fills the stage like a frame in a film, and that gives us infinite possibilities." Florence Pot was born in Rouen, France, in 1969. |
