Sylvain Dornon

Sylvain Dornon (1858 - 1900), Boulanger Arcachon be born, held so that the use of the stilt S in the Landes of Gascogne is preserved and that they become a Sport and a Jeu.

Spectacles of waders

The August 4th 1889, it presents for the first time its group of tchancats in the park of the Moorish Casino of Arcachon in front of a public many. The spectacle starts with three races, and ends in Lou Quadrilh dous tchancats (squares it waders): artistic Spectacle with the sound of the fifre and the tchalamine (kind of oboe rustic). The troop thus has just created a new speciality arcachonnaise: dance on stilts!

An atypical demonstration in the capital

Sylvain Dornon establishes forever the reputation of Landais while assembling on his stilts to the second stage of the Eiffel Tower at the time of the World Fair of 1889. This demonstration was in fact an assertion of identity, at the time of the extinction of the agro-pastoral system in the Moors.

From Paris to Moscow

Hardly of return, he contemplated already a new project. He decided to go to the Franco-Russian Exposure Moscow in May 1891 on his stilts, on the basis of Paris. He made an agreement with " Illustration" who financed his voyage. Nearly 2000 people hustled themselves to attend the beginning, the March 12th, place of the Harmony, of our traveller vêtu of the complete equipment of the shepherd landais and gone up on his stilts.
Le way was difficult because of the climatic conditions, of the bad condition of the roads, the not very friendly reactions of certain villagers seeing this strange scarecrow passing in front of on their premises. Gone up on stilts of 1 m 20, it traversed an average distance of 60 km per day. Its route was: Paris, Rheims, Sedan, Luxembourg, Coblentz, Berlin, Wilna and finally Moscow.
Il arrived the May 10th at Moscow, and it is behind a procession of police officers that he visited the Exposure of Moscow, while the public applauded and shouted " Live France! ".

Its return to Arcachon was discrete. It will not cease supporting the cause of the stilts until its death in 1900, at the 42 years age.

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