Melie Philippot
Driven by a passion for horses and the performing arts since childhood, stage director, acrobat and equestrian artist Mélie Philippot brings together her many talents with ease, ambition, and determination. Coming from a family background that was not particularly inclined toward attending theatres or even visiting stables, Mélie nonetheless embarked on a decidedly unconventional path.
After many hesitations, she threw herself wholeheartedly into an equestrian and circus adventure that inspired her, giving her the energy and daring to push her limits and achieve her goals.
Through hard work and meaningful encounters, she caught the attention of key figures who would provide her with the tools to build a career. Her atypical profile sparked interest early on. Yves Bienaimée, founder and director of the Grandes Écuries de Chantilly, offered her her first job as a groom. Eight months after her arrival, she joined the performance troupe and soon after was promoted to head of the Grandes Écuries.
Eager to refine her skills and dreaming of collaborating with Bartabas, founder of the Zingaro equestrian theatre company, Mélie Philippot was admitted to the future Académie du Spectacle Équestre of Versailles after auditions that brought together thousands of applicants. Only twelve students were selected, among them Mélie. This experience allowed her to explore other essential disciplines in the profession: dance, singing, drawing, stage direction, and more.
Keen to spread her wings, she has since explored a wide range of worlds connected to equestrian performance, both in horse training and in writing shows. She crossed paths at La Mer de Sable with Mario Luraschi, the renowned film horse trainer. She then travelled to Patagonia to train the horses of Florent Pagny, before returning to France to care for the horses of Dany Boon.
Strengthened by these enriching experiences, she joined the Haras de La Roche-sur-Yon, where she wrote her first acts under the benevolent guidance of its director. There, she was quickly noticed by international producers in the equestrian entertainment industry. She performed in some of Europe’s most prestigious cities: Hamburg, Amsterdam, Dublin, Stockholm, Rome, and more. Wishing to establish herself in a specific region, she joined a small performance company in the Cantal, which gave her complete creative freedom to write and create shows filled with humour and poetry.
Desiring to own her own space and to develop both a creative hub and an equestrian theatre school, she renovated a farm in 2020 in the town of Isserpent, in the Allier region. After the lockdown, she premiered her first show there with her company Hors(e) Série: Enfourchement immédiat (2021). Following strong public success and large audiences, Mélie and the company went on to create two new shows per year at a rapid pace: L’Arbre aux mille légendes (2021), Envolez-moi(2022), and Un petit coin de paradis (2022).
All of these productions met with great success and continue to tour alternately in France and abroad. At the same time, Mélie pursues a thriving nternational career (Austria, Morocco, England,
Germany, among others).