French dance company Beau Geste are beginning their UK tour in Sheffield of Transports Exceptionnels, a tender duet between man and machine with a musical accompaniment of the voice of Maria Callas.

Priasso has performed the 20-minute piece all over the world and for practical reasons the excavator which forms the other half of the act has to be provided locally.

"That's why we rehearse the day before but it still means I only get two or three hours to get to know it," says the dancer.

Actually, it's probably more crucial that the driver, a member of the Beau Geste technical crew, gets used to the digger. "It's very important he knows exactly how to deal with the fluidity of each machine. In Germany two days ago the machine was very big and also unstable. In Great Britain we will have the same machine for the whole tour so over 20 performances I will get used to it.

Transports Exceptionnels was the idea of choreographer Dominique Boivin.

"We have collaborated for 30 years and know each other perfectly," says Priasso. "I was happy to go along with the idea and when we started we didn't know what would happen. It was through the working process we found the relationship between the man and machine and the choreography. I think performing it so many times has enriched the choreography.

"When the machine is difficult we have to deal with it and I think that helps to keep it alive and makes it better for me as a performer because even after three years it feels very new as if I was performing it for the first time whereas on other things I might be bored. For me it's challenging and a real pleasure."

"My previous experience was as a dancer with a certain taste for things acrobatic, I guess you could say . But we are dancers and what I want to show is the power of motion.

"When we started we had no idea what we were taking on. The first driver, who is our lighting designer and has since returned to doing that, had such a sense of motion that I didn't feel there was any risk.
Now I am much more aware of it and I think the audience can understand the risk, although I don't want that to be their main concern.

"I want to convey a sense of excitement to those who are watching. It's entirely open for them to see, we don't block the view in any way. There's not a story, everyone can imagine what they wish through the way I look and travel and run and jump and hang and grab the bucket."

Priasso has performed all round Europe and in South Africa and Korea, but is he prepared for the vaguaries of a British autumn?

"During the tour I will complete my 300th performance and we have only had to cancel three times because of the weather. After rain it can be slippery and dangerous but I don't think it will be a problem."

As part of event of Sheffield's contribution to the Cultural Olympiad launch weekend, there will be performances of Transports Exceptionnels on Devonshire Green today at 1.30pm and on Saturday at 11am and 1pm.

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