Between 2004 and 2005, Hayli Clifton, Compagnie Animotion’s Artistic Director, studied theatre with Philippe Gaulier at his school in Paris, with the support of The Arts Council, England.

Having already completed her BA in Theatre Acting at Bretton Hall (UK), where she chose to specialise in physical theatre, she had been touring for several years for various theatre companies, including street theatre, mask, puppetry and circus before she began her training in Paris in both physical and classic theatre.

This experience in the world of physical and visual theatre caused her to come to a conclusion: that the theatre she was performing, (often without speech), was accessible to all members of the public, particularly Deaf audiences.

She realised that in the UK, there were few opportunities for Deaf professionals in the arts and access to specialised arts training was rare.

At the time, there was only one other theatre company in the UK founded specifically to create work with and for the Deaf community. For a country with a population of about 9 million Deaf people, this seemed rather a shame.

Compagnie Animotion was created with the aim to provide the same opportunities for the Deaf community that the hearing community has in terms of access to the arts and arts training.

It would do this by : creating job opportunities for Deaf artists and exchanges between Deaf and hearing artists, create shows for Deaf and hearing audiences, promote Sign Language and Deaf culture and create training opportunities in movement and physical theatre for artists of all ages from both the Deaf and hearing communities.

Since 2004, it has created a new language for the theatre; a mix of physical, visual and sensory work, accessible to all audiences, no matter what their language or culture.

For the future, Animotion would like to expand its work and to promote all cultures and communities at risk of social exclusion.