Cast
Victoria Tennant
Nicholas Pennell
René Bazinet
Isabelle Chassé
Jinny J Jacinto
Nadine Louis-Binette
Laurence Racine
Owen Montague
Jeremy Ransom

In 1893, the French composer Erik Satie had a brief but passionate love affair with painter Suzanne Valadon. The action of this Canadian dance drama takes place 17 years later, when the river Seine breaks its banks, flooding most of Paris. Pursued by the surging waters Suzanne (performed by Veronica Tennant) seeks refuge in a working class Montmartre café. By coincidence, she discovers that her former lover, Satie is also among the patrons artists, writers and dancers - trapped by the rising floodwaters, along four exotic contortionists and a jester from the Cirque du Soleil.

While the premise may be unusual, the mixture of history and fantasy evokes Satie's obsessive love for Suzanne with empathy, while the former lovers' relationship is examined with moving attention to detail, and is extrapolated by the diverse talents of the acrobatic dancers, whose expressive styles blend seamlessly.

The poignant story of reconciliatory love unfolds, set against a musical backdrop of Erik Satie's mystical piano works.

Choreographed by the Cirque de Soleil's Debra Brown, this is a multiple award-winning and highly original dance piece.