The Little Apple Circus: when the seasons are dressed in grace and elegance

Le Petit Cirque brings together Pomme, Marie Bourgeois, and Yoann Bourgeois for a family-friendly show debuting at Bouffes du Nord during the holiday season. If Pomme is only known to you for her global hit Ma meilleure ennemie, then this isn’t the show to skip. Inspired by her album Saisons, this performance is tailored for young audiences aged 6 and up, extending her musical universe into an immersive stage experience. Conceived as a celebration of nature, it brings to life a cycle of songs that mirror the changing months of the year through movement and visuals—a detailed concept outlined in the show's program. This new production firmly celebrates live performance and is a must-see for families seeking a cultural outing.

The staging is based on a joint script by Pomme, Marie Bourgeois, and Yoann Bourgeois. Together, they have developed a narrative that follows a character throughout his life and sketches a world where humans and nature could coexist. To convey the variations of the seasons, each scene is organized around a natural element, a color palette, and a climatic phenomenon. To achieve this, the artists have designed a circular, rotating stage reminiscent of a slightly outdated circus ring, exploiting the interplay of forces, gravity, and multiple viewpoints. This creation is part of the Paris theater landscape and fits perfectly into the Parisian scene.

On stage, Pomme is accompanied by a string quartet conducted by Pauline Denize and four performers: Marie Bourgeois, Kim Amankwaa, Yurié Tsugawa, and Kiley Dolaway. The production combines live music, dance, circus, magic, and video performance. The costumes are designed by Mélodie Wronski and Ségolène Chavaren, while Alexandre Machefel is responsible for the videos and Jérémie Cusenier for the lighting. The set design is the result of a collective effort by Marie Bourgeois, Yoann Bourgeois, Claire Pommet, Camille Duchemin, and Olivier Clausse, a team brought together around a 2025 creation.

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Driven by a team of artists rooted in contemporary circus, as well as music and dance, this production embraces a multidisciplinary approach that continues the innovative research spearheaded by Yoann Bourgeois and supports Pomme’s musical exploration. Premiering at the Grec Festival in Barcelona in June 2025, Le Petit Cirque also marks an ongoing collaboration between the two artists, who have already teamed up on several stage and musical projects. Designed to appeal to a wide audience, the show aims to offer a heartfelt journey through the seasons, blending accessible and visually engaging storytelling suitable for both children and adults. This captivating mix of dance and circus naturally finds its place within the realms of contemporary dance and live performance.

Our review:

With an almost disarming simplicity, Pomme — a prominent figure on France's contemporary scene — steps out into the audience, preparing in plain sight, as if to blur the line between stage and spectators from the very start. Overhead, a string quartet hovers above the stage, while four dancers embody the changing seasons around a rotating circular platform, mimicking the passage of time.

Intimacy, grace, and elegance intertwine in a collective performance marked by remarkable harmony. Circus, dance, music, and nature — crafted with a handmade, artisanal feel — weave together in a swirling ballet. Nature, shaped with patience and care, unfolds like a theater of metamorphoses: elements, colors, climates.

From scene to scene, the show unfolds a dreamlike experience of great coherence, oscillating between gentle melancholy and pure wonder. Bodies fall, rise, soar — caught in animmutable cycle that echoes both the seasons and human fragility. Music envelops everything, breathing with the performers, intensifying the sense of an enclosed, fragile, and precious world.

With rare sensitivity, Le Petit Cirque never seeks to impress — it simply touches. And in this economy of means, in this meticulous attention to detail, a lasting, almost silent emotion emerges, resonating long after the stage stops turning.

A special mention goes to the surprisingly accessible ticket prices, considering inflation and the high artistic standards upheld by the entire team. Thanks to Pomme, Marie and Yoann Bourgeois, and all the artists, for delivering — this winter — one of the season’s most delightful surprises.

Le petit cirque can be seen at the Bouffes du Nord from December 26, 2025, to January 4, 2026.