Illusions of transcendence: Laurent Chevallier's Circus Baobab and the volatile charms of Guinean youth performance arts

Shot in a distinctively lyrical, experimental style, Laurent Chevallier's documentary Circus Baobab (2001) chronicled the pioneering tour of le premier cirque acrobatique arien d'Afrique across the Republic of Guinea. The film evinced a reverence for Guinea's cultural patrimonies, the sociological and environmental attributes of its interior regions and the spellbinding dance and acrobatic talents of the local youths who were the stars of the travelling spectacle. Despite these romantic elements, Chevallier's venture proved in significant respects a complicated reflection of colonial and postcolonial cultural politics and conflicts. This article explores some of the complex dynamics that shaped Chevallier's multifaceted project, as well as the disjunctive meanings and values ascribed to it by metropolitan and Guinean spectators. In its emphasis on the political volatility of Guinean youth performance arts over time, it hopes to expand the domains of interest and interpretive frameworks shaping cultural studies of Francophone West Africa.