CANON
How did you get your stage name?
“Pixelle” refers to my small size and precision. “Canon” alludes not only to my love for photography, but also because our artistic director Andrée Deissenberg thought I was “the bomb”.
How does one become a dancer at the Crazy Horse?
With loads of perseverance! To become part of the Crazy Horse dance troupe, I went to four seperate auditions. My strategy was to try out as soon as I turned Seventeen, Even before I was old enough to get in. That was my way of standing out. For this first audition, Svetlana Konstantinova, our stage and production manager, said I had a baby face! So, I gave myself some time to grow up and work on my dancing, while still regularly keeping in touch with Svetlana: New Year’s e-mails, Happy Easter, and for any and all occasions in between! In 2017, I came to live in Paris and I told everyone that I’d been hired by Crazy Horse Paris, even though I hadn’t even passed my fourth audition! I was so convinced of it that I got ahead of myself but, luckily, it worked!
How did you get into dancing?
I got into classical dancing in Corsica at a young age. When I was twelve, I went to school in Roanne, where I did a sports-study program, with emphasis on dancing and then joined the Chalon-Sur-Saône conservatory. At this point, I dreamt as much of becoming a ballerina as a Crazy Girl. So I trained for music hall and variety at the Institut National des Arts du Music-hall au Mans and got hired as a ballerina in Munich. It’s while dancing in a ballet corps that I realized I’d like to do some solo performances. So, I left Munich and was hired as a cabaret dancer on a cruise ship, which allowed me to combine my passion for travelling with that of dancing. When I got back on land, I continued in cabaret in Bordeaux, Qatar, the Seychelles and Venice, until my fourth and final attempt at getting into Crazy Horse Paris.
Which character trait describes you best?
Perfectionism. That’s actually more of a burden, as I’m always afraid of not excelling in whatever it is I undertake. If I have a doubt, I prefer not even trying. So it pushes me to always try to improve, yet also stops me from being more ambitious, I have a hard time letting go.
What vision of femininity do you represent when you’re dancing on the Crazy Horse stage?
I feel a lot less shy when I’m on stage than in real life. stage. Plus, I feel beyond reach, beautiful, unique and happy. I love being alone on this stage and being able to reinvent myself each evening with my feelings and aspirations of the moment. It’s become kind of like an addiction.
You’re a dancer at the Crazy Horse. Is there an even crazier dream you’d like to fulfill?
I have tons! Next to dancing, I’ve done quite a bit of theater and I really want to start acting, that’d be my number two dream. But there are so many things I love! For example, I’m always taking pictures of everything, all the time. It’s truly a passion! One day, I’ll do something serious with this series of clichés, but as long as I can’t give it my all to get to the level I really want to be at, I prefer that it just remains a hobby.
Do you have a trick to help you overcome stage-fright?
I put on lots of perfume before each solo performance. Gives me the feeling that I’ve put the finishing touch to my preparation and gives me self-confidence.
Which scene of the Totally Crazy! show do you think is the most amazing?
Without a doubt Rougir de Désir ! It’s a number that moves me tremendously, because of its intimacy and restraint. The choreography gives a lot of freedom to the dancer, because she’s the one who gets to decide on which parts of her body the spotlights reveal. I love both watching and dancing it!
Discover Pixelle Canon in video :
Photos: Paul-Henri Pesquet, Rémi Desclaux
Video: Paul-Henri Pesquet
