Abstract: For Cocteau, the circus and the music-hall function, on the one hand, as metaphors which allow him to formulate his own poetic values. On the other, these arts offer him the opportunity to experiment with new aesthetic schemas which question the separation of genres. In his theatre-ballets, the poet’s approach is marked by an aesthetic of the body and gestures which seeks to achieve a performance which is no longer realistic, but profoundly true.
