Review:
Circa and Humans 2.0
UCSB Arts & Lectures presents an evening of contemporary circus from down under.
WORDS Ninette Paloma
photo: David Bazemore
Step right up folks and take your seats! Fix your attention on the stark, boom lit stage for a rare and enthralling chance to see – for one night only – bodies! Bodies in quavering two-highs and acro sport puzzles and gravity-defying banquine. Bodies, defined by sleek and mythical limbs and not the laws of physics. So wondrous are these vessels of stamina that sequined costumes and elephants will not be missed! No smoke and mirrors were used for this act, ladies and gentlemen, and please, don’t try this at home!
When UCSB Arts & Lectures brings the circus to town, you can expect the pageantry of yesteryear to give way to the contemporary where this ancient discipline is concerned. Razzle-dazzle is replaced with the avant-garde sensibilities of some of the world’s most celebrated flight-bound companies, where dance and acrobatics and aerial apparatus blend into one genre-inclusive vision. When Brisbane-based Circa is the company in play, ancient technique is distilled down even further and into its pedestrian roots, transforming movement into a dynamic celebration of the human form.
No clearer is this approach than in Humans 2.0, the troupe’s 2011 works brought to life last week on the Lobero Theatre’s stage. Over the course of 70 minutes, artists communicated through silent and focused technique as bodily structures were erected and dismantled with confident ease. In sheer black mesh, their bodies – the defined curve of an arm and sculpted shoulder – revealed the arduous training each artist bore to make transitions purr in triumph. A striking and absurdist straps act and minimalist fabrics solo served as aerial interludes, flexing the choreographic prowess of a company over 15 years strong.
Rather than relying on the more is more ethos of old-world circus performance, the captivating finale took shape around a single trapeze passed back and forth by all ten ensemble members. Rigged in the center, this ancient apparatus took on a soothing and grounding force even as the artists soared below, above, and around its modest presence. Despite cosmic implications, the artists were indeed tethered to this earth and to one another, connected by a kinetic language that continues to inspire.
When UCSB Arts & Lectures brings the circus to town, you can expect the pageantry of yesteryear to give way to the contemporary where this ancient discipline is concerned. Razzle-dazzle is replaced with the avant-garde sensibilities of some of the world’s most celebrated flight-bound companies, where dance and acrobatics and aerial apparatus blend into one genre-inclusive vision. When Brisbane-based Circa is the company in play, ancient technique is distilled down even further and into its pedestrian roots, transforming movement into a dynamic celebration of the human form.
No clearer is this approach than in Humans 2.0, the troupe’s 2011 works brought to life last week on the Lobero Theatre’s stage. Over the course of 70 minutes, artists communicated through silent and focused technique as bodily structures were erected and dismantled with confident ease. In sheer black mesh, their bodies – the defined curve of an arm and sculpted shoulder – revealed the arduous training each artist bore to make transitions purr in triumph. A striking and absurdist straps act and minimalist fabrics solo served as aerial interludes, flexing the choreographic prowess of a company over 15 years strong.
Rather than relying on the more is more ethos of old-world circus performance, the captivating finale took shape around a single trapeze passed back and forth by all ten ensemble members. Rigged in the center, this ancient apparatus took on a soothing and grounding force even as the artists soared below, above, and around its modest presence. Despite cosmic implications, the artists were indeed tethered to this earth and to one another, connected by a kinetic language that continues to inspire.
photo: David Bazemore