• Pitching

    A discipline where groups of acrobats join hands to throw a flyer many metres through the air. Pitching is one of China's most ancient acrobatic skills. Handed down from generation to generation over a period of 2000 years, it originated from the tradition of whole towns and villages that formed itinerant acrobatic troupes. Today there are few teachers of the art, though it survives in China and can be seen imported into big budget shows like Cirque du Soleil's Quidam. Another company using pitching for artistic work is the French group Compagnie XY.

    a.k.a: Banquine

  • Magazine

    By Dorothy Max Prior on 21 May 2010 in Reviews

    With a dearth of circus or physical theatre work in the Brighton Festival, it came down to the Fringe to fill the gaps. Enter the Freerange: a great red plastic geodesic dome which was parked on a church green in central Brighton—a temporary refuge for circus, variety and cabaret.

    By John Ellingsworth on 20 April 2010 in Reviews

    Le Grand C might be disruptive to your normal breathing. Working with pitching (one of the oldest acrobatic disciplines, where groups of bases toss flyers to each other's waiting arms), Compagnie XY ensnare their audience in a constant action of tension and release.

    By John Ellingsworth on 6 January 2009 in Reviews

    Quidam was probably amazing once. A bored young girl is transported from her parents’ world into another place: a dreamland where she encounters strange and sometimes frightening characters, led all the while by a puckish guide who ultimately reunites her with her mother and father.