Gabriel Hermand-Priquet : research residency in December

The Grammar of manipulation was formulated under the aegis of Gaston Baty, during research carried out by his Marionnettes à la française troupe to establish a common vocabulary and technique base for its members, whether trained actors or traditionally trained puppeteers. Transcribed by André-Charles Gervais, it can be considered a milestone in the transmission of girdle puppetry, and still serves as a basis for many puppeteers and educators today.

Gabriel Hermand-Priquet will explore how the transmission of these techniques has been reformulated, moving on from a traditional apprenticeship to a pedagogy that can form part of an actor-puppeteer’s overall training, drawing on his own practice and apprenticeship with master Yeung Faï.

Gabriel Hermand-Priquet, himself a puppeteer and teacher, is a graduate of ESNAM’s 4th class, where he has returned regularly to share his practice and teaching. Nurtured by Aikido, dance improvisation and other body-based teachings, this work is also expressed through his many collaborations as performer, author, puppet builder and artistic advisor. For over twenty years, he has maintained an artistic relationship with Roman Paska and Tibo Gebert.

At L’Ateuchus, the company he runs with Virginie Schell, he develops his pedagogical work, which considers puppets as objects of connection and relationships as the underlying principle of animation techniques.

The fruits of this research will be used to formulate a pedagogy proposing a different approach to the transmission of the girdle puppet, based on a more global listening of the body. Part of this research will also make up a section of the permanent exhibition at the BatYsse, a venue dedicated to the puppetry arts that takes root in the house where Gaston Baty was born, and for which L’Ateuchus is artistic director.