Tetrakaï

Some traditions are worth preserving. The end-of-year show at the National Centre for Circus Arts is one of them. Every year, a dozen or so of the world's most promising dancers, troupers and funambulists – all students at the centre – get together inside a tent in the Parc de la Villette to wow an attentive audience with their latest performances. This year, the event celebrates its 25th edition with a special show by renowned director Christophe Huysman entitled 'Tetrakaï'. The title is a catalogue of allusions to Greek numerals and Japanese calligraphic practices – which is fully appropriate, given the wild eclecticism of the acrobatics on display. Chinese pole art, hand-to-hand acts, high-wire stunts, flying trapezes... There's a reason this tradition is already a quarter of a century old: it represents the most refined of circus art in France today.