This year from July 1 to 4, an estimated 180,000 people visited the Paris Nord Villepinte in Paris, a near 60-fold increase on the 3,200 who came to see the first Paris Japan EXPO in 1999. As the scale of the event has increased, showcasing anime, fashion, cosplay, traditional Japanese ikebana and minyo and live music, so has the level of the guests of honor, this year attracting all-girl pop group Morning Musume.

Just outside Paris lies a small town called Aubervilliers. In it lives a community of 45 members, spouses, children, and, most notably, 38 horses. Like any normal nomad community, they are rarely at home instead traveling the world as a unit. These are no ordinary nomads, however. They are Theatre Zingaro, an extraordinary collection of performers, gypsies, acrobats, and musicians led by keen equestrian and actor, Bartabas.