Julien Gabriel
Back in France he was one of the pioneers and architects of the renewal of Street Arts.
Shows and creations in Aix-en-Provence, “Ville ouverte aux saltimbanques” (City open to acrobats), “la Falaise des Fous” (the Cliff of the Lunatics); at the Aurillac and Chalon festivals in the street; headmaster of Montreuil theatre mime school; stage manager of several theatre companies and event production companies both in France and abroad : L’Armoire aux Confitures (The Jelly Cupboard), Pochette Surprise (Party Bag), Les Nuits Blanches (Sleepless Nights).
He has created many shows, two of which have received awards in France: the prix Charles Dullin in 1986 with “Les Gros Chiens” (the Big Dogs) by Chaval and the Molière award for best one man show in 1991 with Rufus in “Échappement libre” (Free Escapement). He directed the Ligue d’Improvisation Française (French Improvisation League) from 1985 to 1992.
Julien started his artistic career at age 13 in Emmanuel Mounier high school (Grenoble). He studied at the conservatory for dramatic arts in the same town, then in Paris as well as in the international Marcel Marceau mime school. He practiced dancing, mime, acrobatics, comedy and clown. He has taught in prestigious institutions such as the National Ballet of Mexico and that of Guatemala, in the art department of Veracruz University (Mexico) and in the experimental theatre of Cali (Colombia).
From 1991 to 1996, he was the art director of the Festival des Vendanges de Suresnes (Suresnes Harvest Festival) and lent it cachet as a key event in Street Arts. After 7 years spent in the United States with his company “the Dream Hunters” (creation of 3 shows : Cirikli, Les Ailes du Vent – the Wings of Wind – Le Museum d’histoire Super naturel – the supernatural museum of history – which have been played more than 1500 times each) he went to Quebec, invited by le Cirque du Soleil for which he worked for 10 years as a creator of creative content and stage director for the special events division where he signed great productions both in Canada and abroad : Le Bar du Bout du Monde (the Bar at the World’s end), on the Celebrity Cruises ships; Le Réveil du Serpent (the Snake’s Awakening) for the international exhibition in Zaragoza, Spain; Les Chemins Invisibles (the Invisible Paths), a great street show by le Cirque du Soleil for the city of Quebec. He is the co-founder of the Dream Hunters Co.