The Accroche-Cœurs, an utterly crazy festival!
Photo Th. Bonnet
Le chant des coquelicots (2015)
At this festival, Angers artists Frédéric Bourreau created an amazing mass of poppies on the place du Ralliement. The articulated red flowers appeared to move in time to the music.
Photo Marc Van Canneyt
FierS à Cheval (2016)
This show by the Les Quidam company plunged the audience into a dreamlike world, where huge stallions took part in a tremendous cavalcade.
Photo Th. Bonnet
Rue de Yantai (2011)
The rue des Deux-Haies transformed into a mini Chinatown! A striking trompe-l'oeil made possible by the temporary set composed of calligraphy from the Confucius Institute. The characters were suspended in the air or installed against shops along with paper lanterns, all against a backdrop of Beijing rock or Shanghai classics from the 1930s!
Photo Th. Bonnet
Les roues de couleurs (2015)
The imposing coloured wheels by Compagnie Off, 7 to 11 metres tall and turned by strange creatures, moved through the city centre to feverish choreography and an electro musical backdrop.
Photo Ph Laur
Sieste cubaine (2013)
A spectacular performance based on aerial acrobatics, led by the companies Armance Brown, Arts des Airs and Bruno Krief. The four characters created a tangle of dreamlike snapshots with Chinese poles, straps, beams and even nets.
Photo R Vincent Nury
Envolée chromatique (2012 et 2013)
This poetic creation by the companies Aérosculpture and Quidam, along with the accordionist Nano, stunned the audience through the realism of its large white birds flying over the Maine. They frolicked through the air, performing a majestic ballet enhanced by the captivating score of an orchestra.
Photo Th. Bonnet
Une Cerise Noire (2011)
A film inspired by 50s American crime movies, turned to face the audience and played live on a giant screen! This astonishing show was provided by the company La Française des Comptages, which unloaded the set of its studio lorry on place Rochefoucauld. The stunned viewers themselves played a part in this new masterpiece of the 7th Art.
Photo Jef Rabillon
Far West 2037 (2013)
Created by the spirited local company Jo Bithume, the highlight of this show was its impressive set design. It told the story of a community of men and women who set off to build the city of their dreams on an off-shore platform to escape economic and environmental chaos.
Photo P. Surtel
L’origine du monde (2014)
This amazing art installation by Pierre Surtel aimed to be a celebration of the chair, with the artist starting from the premise that it preceded Man at the very origins of the world: "we are the extension of the chair, without it there's nothing!"
Photo CNDC - Arnaud Hie
Shadowplay (2014)
Choreographed by Robert Swinston, this show was an opportunity for students at the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine d'Angers (Angers National Centre of Contemporary Dance) to put on a remarkable and astonishingly cohesive performance inspired by the mysterious layout of Brittany's menhirs and dolmens.
Enjoy a wonderful experience by taking part in this amazing street festival which invades the streets of Angers in early September. Theatre, concerts, dance, circus, art installations and more await you!
The city centre transformed into a huge playground! Since 1999, the Accroche-Cœurs have turned Angers into the scene of a giant show on the right and left banks alike. The city by the Maine sees a host of stunning spectacles which the public can see for free, on the street, in a little square or against the walls of a monument, for example.
These popular creations are the work of collectives, artists or companies from all four corners of France. Giant creatures walk between buildings, acrobats somersault, dreamlike worlds appear, concerts are improvised and art installations take shape. Here are the high points of recent festivals in pictures.