ESTELLE CARLETON
Today, Maison Labiche meets Estelle Carleton, dancer and mother, who opens the doors of her family apartment, a haven of creativity and childlike gaiety. A passionate artist, dancer-performer and teacher, Estelle has collaborated with many choreographers, including Claude Brumachon, Suzanne Meyer, and more recently with Nawel Oulad for the Musée Bourdelle, where she created a series of performances with a cellist.
Both passionate about the digital world and "children of tech", their story began in Dublin in 2010, when they were working at Facebook and Google. Affectionately nicknamed "the internets“ by their friends and family, Julie and Mathieu live life at 200 miles an hour.
For Estelle, however, she is a mother before anything else. As the mother of three children - Salomé, 7, Alyosha, 2, and Zephyr, 6 months - she shares her love of creativity with them. Estelle grew up in an artistic environment, surrounded by a family of musicians, spoiled by jazz and lulled by her mother's singing.
Music is a passion she shares with her children's father, who plays guitar and writes a lot. This desire to create is naturally passed on to their children. Watching their mother dance and their father write nourishes and stimulates their imaginations. Their apartment often becomes a playground for this imagination.
Estelle is fascinated by people who master words, knowing how to order and convey their thoughts with clarity. She, on the other hand, gives free rein to her creativity without using words, preferring silence for fear of not being understood. Dance then becomes her preferred language, as each gesture, each movement, can say so much.
For her children and herself, Estelle chose to have "la berceuse" (“the lullaby”) embroidered. This word embodies a rhythm, a song, a gesture that evokes many aspects of motherhood for her, such as rocking her children to sleep or singing lullabies to them at night, precious moments that they share.
This choice is also a tribute to "Bercer le monde", an immersive piece by Ingrid Bizaguet to which she contributed. As a "lullaby", she wrapped the audience in large white sheets. For Estelle, everyone should know the experience of rocking and being rocked.
THE WORDS OF ESTELLE
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Word of the day?
Grisaille. I'm missing the sun right now.
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The author of your favorite words?
Claude Nougaro.
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Your favorite quote or words?
"Look behind the clouds. There's always an azure sky." Le Monde s'est déboublé by Clara Ysé.
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A word in song?
"Lullaby Of Birdland" by Sarah Vaughan. A jazz standard that's also a lullaby.
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The word that defines you?
Combative.
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The word that changed your life?
Motherhood.
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The word that comforts you?
Childhood. All the words, images and smells associated with my childhood.
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The word that inspires you?
Encounter.
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A word of love / A kind word?
Ma biche (“My doe”). my mom's nickname for me.
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The word that annoys you?
Tidying up.
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The word that revolts you?
Censorship.
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The most beautiful word?
Melancholy.
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YOUR CHILDREN'S FIRST WORDS?
Daddy, mommy and bird comes quickly behind.
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THE WORD THAT BONDS YOU WITH YOUR CHILDREN?
Creativity. Without hesitation.
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THE WORD YOU SAY TO YOUR CHILDREN?
Three words. I love you.
