La Folle Allure develops a sensitive language that bridges the gap between physical prowess and the imagination. Circus performance and simple movements come together, creating a unique poetic expression.
Poetry becomes language. A universal language that invites us to delve into our own imagination, to question it, and to rediscover ourselves.
La Folle Allure was born from the meeting of Gaëlle, an aerial acrobat on the tightrope and ceiling walker, trained at the Académie Fratellini where she developed her research into the rope and its material properties in all their forms, and Guillaume, a curious and self-taught artist, who developed his work as an acrobat on the Chinese pole and acrobatic bicycle, as a juggler and thrower, alongside his work in construction.
Drawing on a wealth of shared and personal experiences, it was in 2013 that they chose to embark on the same path, affirming their artistic identity with the creation of La Folle Allure – a travelling circus.
La Folle Allure was born out of a wild desire to create, to perform, to travel the roads, a desire to share and to meet people.
For each of their shows, the worlds are chosen and designed, inviting us to escape.
LA FOLLE ALLURE IS AN ODE TO POETRY. A poetry that is raw and pure. A poetry that becomes an instinctive language.
A sensitive language, beyond understanding, giving way to emotion.

Gaëlle Estève

Founder of the company
Performer in the shows “La Folle Allure”, “Petra” et “Faudrait pas rester plantés là”

Guillaume Balès

founder of the company
Performer in the shows “La Folle Allure”, “E2” et “Faudrait pas rester plantés là”

Betty Mansion, founded the company Play Me A Dance in 2017. Her choreographic style is rooted in an urban aesthetic, always infused with her own unique sense of humour.
If we had to sum up the spirit of the company in a single word, it would undoubtedly be ‘letting go’ — or, to put it better, in English: ‘LET IT GO’. We don’t claim to achieve this every day, but we love talking about it, and above all, exploring it through our creations.
Faced with growing demand for artistic events, the company initially specialised in short formats: shows for festival openings or closings, performances in unusual venues, etc.
A turning point came after Betty took part in the 1000 Pièces Puzzle training programme led by Cindy Claes, where she won an award. This enabled her to launch her first tour with the work-in-progress “Khsara”, which ran for a year in Belgium and France.
She then received a grant from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which allowed her to further her research into movement.
In 2022, she created “Oh Summer”, a new short piece that enjoyed considerable success in Belgium and France (notably at the KVS, Théâtre de Namur, Bamp, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi, Collectif 734, La Gare à Coulisse, etc.).
Also in 2022, Bamp gave him carte blanche, true to his style: a clever blend of urban dance, humour, music and circus — an evening that proved a huge hit with the audience.
This year, the company is finally embarking on its first long-running production: the show “Névroses Banales”, which premiered in January 2026 at the Théâtre de la Vie in Brussels.

Betty Mansion

Danseuse

Betty Mansion is a Belgian dancer and choreographer renowned for her distinctive style, which blends several disciplines. After training in hip-hop in Belgium, she went on to study in Paris, drawing inspiration from jazz, classical, contemporary and musical theatre. She has made a name for herself through her originality, which enabled her to choreograph for artists, TV shows, adverts and more at a very young age.
After a few years, she decided to return to Belgium to refocus on her own artistic exploration and to set up her company, “Play Me A Dance”. Following the initial success of her work-in-progress “Khsara”, which she performed for a year, Betty now devotes herself to her company to explore “movement” in greater depth, whilst continuing to choreograph for the projects she is passionate about.
She also teaches at several schools and is invited to lead intensive workshops; she tours France, Belgium and Italy with the circus company “Les Josianes”, in which she performs and has been an assistant choreographer since June 2022. She is developing her singing and clowning skills, and has discovered a real passion for this aspect, which she is able to integrate into her creative work.

Gabi Chitescu

Flyer on an aerial cradle

He was born in Bordeaux, half Italian and half red-haired.
It’s in Bacalan, a rough neighborhood of the city who he grew up.
Very shy, he nevertheless lives life to the fullest, seizing the opportunities it offers him.
Asthmatic, his doctor prescribed sport as treatment. He didn’t like football.
Luckily, a circus school opened near his home. That’s how, at the age of seven, he was introduced to the circus arts, which he would never leave for the rest of his life.. He went through several training schools (ENACR, CNAC) before launching his professional career.
Beyond the shows he has performed in — Guerre and Animalsketching (Samuel Mathieu Company); 50 mètres and Même pas peur (AGA Company) — he has developed a strong interest in sharing culture through various means.
With L’Agence de Géographie Affective (AGA), he also leads projects in primary schools, questioning the place of children in public space.
Trained as a straper, for this new creation he becomes a perche flyer, a challenge that keeps him awake !

Garance Hubert Samson

Aerial cradle

Born during a snowstorm in the peaceful town of Québec City, Garance starts a nomad life in the shadow of her theatrical father, from one backstage to another. At one month old, she flies to Europe and will be one of the last cross the Berlin wall before it collapses. Her mother, at the same time spacey and rational, teaches mathematics. At eighteen month old, Garance welcomes a brother, hi Budha shape will soon transform into a beautiful Japanese asparagus. She always dreamed of being on stage to explore different roles, to claim joie de vivre for the entire human race. She learns piano, taekwondo, funky jazz, volley-ball, theater, photography and … circus when she is eleven, at École de cirque de Québec. Little did she know this would be the beginning of a great story. Her studies will go from equilibrium with a stick on the chin, to unicycle, juggling, acrobalance and trampoline.

The comes love at first sight when she connects with the aerial rope. This new âssion will lead her to Europe, looking for an inspired mentor. Once welcomed at L’ENACR, she meets Karine Nöel, a dance teacher who will show her the countless textures of the discipline. There, she will encounter the one and only aerial cradele, acompanied by three beautiful Frenchwoman, full of character. Amongst them … Gabi Chitescu ! This is how a new team born : “Les Quat’Fers en l’air”. Garance believes the strenght of a show will cause all kinds of feeling, color everyday life with the absurd and taste the majesty of silence.

Dimitri Rizzello

Aerial cradle

He was born in Bordeaux, half Italian and half red-haired. It’s in Bacalan, a rough neighborhood of the city who he grew up.
Very shy, he nevertheless lives life to the fullest, seizing the opportunities it offers him. Asthmatic, his doctor prescribed sport as treatment.
He didn’t like football.Luckily, a circus school opened near his home. That’s how, at the age of seven, he was introduced to the circus arts, which he would never leave for the rest of his life.
He went through several training schools (ENACR, CNAC) before launching his professional career.Beyond the shows he has performed in — Guerre and Animalsketching (Samuel Mathieu Company); 50 mètres and Même pas peur (AGA Company) — he has developed a strong interest in sharing culture through various means.
With L’Agence de Géographie Affective (AGA), he also leads projects in primary schools, questioning the place of children in public space.Trained as a straper, for this new creation he becomes a perche flyer, a challenge that keeps him awake !

David Dimitri is internationally acclaimed for his unique style of tight wire dancing. Combinant an éducation at the State Academy for Circus Arts in Budapest with intensive dance studies at New York’s renowned Juilliard School, David Dimitri has created virtuose dire dances celebrated at circuses, arts festivals, and concert halls throughout the world, Canada’s Cirque du Soleil, New York’s Big Apple Circus, the Swiss National Circus Knie, Broadway’s New Victory Theater, and the Metropolitan Opera under the direction of Jean-Pierre Ponelle, to name a few. In 2001 David Dimitri’s performing career took on an added dimension. With the inavouable assistance of his father, the fade Swiss clown Dimitri, he created his one man show “L’homme cirque” a sparkling presentation of Nouveau Cirque, both intimate and compelling, performed in a touring circus tent designed and built for the production. David Dimitri has been a guest artist at such prominent festivals as Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina; Lincoln Center Festival New York; Just pour Rire, Montreal, Jeux de Piste, Strasbourg, and the Avignon Festival. David Dimitri has also performed on Broadway, at the New Victory Theater. In addition, he is never far from the high dire, most memorably when he christened the new Frankfurter Waldstadium with a spectacular crossing. David Dimitri is in the early planning stages for an extraordinary high wire walk, crossing the entire city of Salzburg, Austria.

The JOSIANES Association was born in the spring of 2020, when the circus crossed my path. After 25 years of my life dedicated to dance, the fusion of this universe with my own seemed obvious, something I’d been waiting for for a long time.
With its clownish craziness, philosophy of daring and taste for risk, I deeply feel the need to explore new facets of movement and the human soul. Added to this is my commitment to the feminist cause and the burning desire to make my art a means of resistance. As the heir of a family of resistance fighters myself, I feel it’s necessary today to question myself on this subject, to shed light on past struggles and their impact on today’s world.
So I gathered around me a group of women artists, each from a different country, but driven by the same desire to use art to make their voices heard. Fearless and funny, they fight for their ideas and dare to assert their characters – women as endearing as they are talented!

They are “Les JOSIANES”.

Julia Spiesser

Julia Spiesser

Dancer, choreographer, singer.

Born into a family of artists, she has been immersed in art and creativity since birth. For her, dance is not a choice, it’s a given! Thirsty to learn and ultra-curious, she explores all styles, training in classical technique as well as hip-hop and singing, between Paris, London and Los Angeles.
A free electron with a rebellious streak and a strong sense of commitment, Julia loves to create worlds, tell life stories, convey strong emotions to her audiences and let them experience moments of pure magic through movement.
Her choreographic DNA is just like her: hybrid, intense, but always with a touch of humor. Julia has been recognized for over 15 years for her extraordinary style and her human and educational qualities.
She dances for a wide range of projects, from television to underground theater. She has choreographed numerous artist tours, as well as many entertainment shows.
In 2015, she created the freaky art show, a charity cabaret that she presents and that brings together artists of all styles (dance, circus, singing, slam…) The 8 editions, at the Palais des glaces in Paris, have sold out. She is also lead singer of the rock band Messy Mondays.
Always on the lookout for new challenges, she’s constantly seeking to reinvent herself, which in 2020 led her to create her own company, combining circus, dance and vertical dance.

“In hope, there is grief, consolation, exhilaration, black holes, acceptance… and the visceral conviction that beneath all the moods and contradictions of the world, there is a visceral, powerful, wild joy.
With our fiery, volcanic circus technique, with our circus trances, with our wild, intense jubilation, talking about our fears, our flaws and our doubts, this is the joy we want to talk about. Because deep down we feel it’s powerful, determined… and constructive. As we throw clubs and bodies through the air, we cry out for freedom!
Sara and Angelos.

Sara Desprez and Angelos Matsakis met over 20 years ago during their respective training courses at ENCC (Châtellerault) and ESAC (Brussels). Since 2008, they have been writing, directing and sharing the ring for their own creations through their company, Cirque Exalté.
The company is based in Le Mans, and performs in France and abroad, under its own big top as well as on the street and in theatres. The company is committed to the long-term dissemination of all its creations.

Sara Desprez

Swinging trapeze, acrobatics, aerials

At the age of six, while pumping her legs as high as possible on her swing, she threw herself into the air, shouting, “Look, Mommy!”… Thanks to a quick-thinking passer-by, she had a narrow escape from what could have been her final flight! Ten years later, Desprez trained at the The National Circus School of Châtellerault (l’Ecole Nationale de Cirque de Châtellerault, ENCC), then at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque of Brussels (ESAC), where she specialized in the swinging trapeze.
She subsequently joined the Helsinki Winter Circus in Finland for two consecutive seasons. Always excited to learn, Sara trains for her acrobatic lifts alongside Angelos Matsakis, with whom she also decides to develop her abilities as a creative artist, by giving birth to the Cirque Exalté Company.

Angelos Matsakis

Juggler, acrobatic lifts

After having dabbled in ping-pong, horseback riding, rugby, badminton, ballroom dance, chess, synchronized swimming, Angelos finally discovers the activity for which he is destined: The Circus.
After his years at the Circus of Hobbies, during which Angelos is a jack of all trades, he is accepted to l’Ecole Nationale de Cirque de Chatelleraut (ENCC), then continues on to l’Ecole Superieure des Arts du Cirque de Bruxelles (ESAC), where he specializes in juggling and acrobatics. Soon after he participates in the creation of Cirque d’Hiver d’Helsinki in Finland, in which he works on his acrobatic lifts. In 2008, along with Sara, he created the Cirque Exalté Company.

Cirque la compagnie is a Franco-Swiss circus company created in 2014. Its co-founders met and trained at the Montreal National Circus School. Their creations promote the values of collective work where mutual aid and sharing are founding values. Acrobatics and risk are their main areas of work.

The first creation of the company is the act «Planche-Mât», gold medalist at the “Festival Mondial du cirque de demain” in 2017. The company stands out for its strong acrobatic identity, its humor, its technical virtuosity, the limits that they want to push and their creativity. Often, it is from their personal humor that their original and technically remarkable creations were born. If we sense the singularity of each artist in this company, it is in the group that the artistic purpose makes sense. These characters are touching ones : simplicity and humor are communicative, provocative.

Their first show was born for the public space – « L’avis bidon – Face A» (2016), which meets a real success. They then create «L’Avis Bidon – Face B» (2017), an indoor version of Face A. Thanks to its creations, Le Cirque la Compagnie has an international reputation.
They are currently working on the writing of their next show, «Pandax», which will be released in June 2021 under a big top.

Zackary Arnaud

Korean teeterboard, free ladder, acrobatics

When he is 17 years old, Zackary decides to travel the world and ends up training at ENACR (Rosny-sous-Bois), then at NCS (Montreal). His particularity? Teeterboard. Now, Zackary is eager to learn, experiment and meet the audience by giving joy, by questioning… passion!

Baptiste Clerc

Chinese pole, Korean teeterboard, acrobatics

Baptist has always shown a certain taste for risk and fall. For 10 years, he assiduously trains himself in circus disciplines until he finds what he truly loves, the Chinese pole. 4 intense years of professionnel stage Training at NCS (Montreal) confirms his passion, and the desire to share through his shows.

Charlie Mach

Acrobatic chairs, teeterboard, acrobatics

Circus always had a big role in his life. At 3, Boris starts at his parent’s circus school: «centre régional des arts du cirque de Piste d’azur». At 15, his circus carreer is slowely growing: preparatory class and then ENACR (Rosny-sous-bois). Specialized in teeterboard, he meets Zackary Arnaud with whom he creates «Des gars de planche». After he graduated from NCS in Montreal, he came back to France with all this richness of culture and new horizons.

Boris Fodella

Korean teeterboard, acrobatics

Circus always had a big role in his life. At 3, Boris starts at his parent’s circus school: «centre régional des arts du cirque de Piste d’azur». At 15, his circus carreer is slowely growing: preparatory class and then ENACR (Rosny-sous-bois). Specialized in teeterboard, he meets Zackary Arnaud with whom he creates «Des gars de planche». After he graduated from NCS in Montreal, he came back to France with all this richness of culture and new horizons.

Boris Fodella

Korean teeterboard, acrobatics

Originally from a small French village, not far from Angers in Maine et Loire, Nicolas discovered the circus at the age of 5. He passed his literary baccalaureate with a heavy option “Art du cirque” at the Marcelin Berthelot High School in Châtellerault, where he discovered the free ladder and acrobatics. With his baccalaureate in hand, he left for three years to the National Circus School of Montreal, where he perfected his skills in ladder, general acrobatics and acting. He worked for two years with Peter James, an established actor for whom he has a lot of respect. Since then, Nicolas has blossomed by “going from contract to contract” with the result: encounters, beautiful moments on stage, beautiful moments of life, beautiful moments of doubt… In his words: “The school of life that I want to live”.