Friday 27 August 2021

ONLINE THEATRE REVIEW: Circus Flavours - Upswing (on Vimeo)



Upswing is an international contemporary circus company based in London, and this video, available to watch for free on Vimeo, showcases just five of their current membership in self-created pieces. The idea behind 'Circus Flavours' is to "get up close and personal" with some of the leading exponents of these disciplines and for the artistes themselves to be given free rein to create their own short pieces for the camera. 

The performers were Imani Vital (aerial straps); Anesta Mathurin and Tobias Peppersack (hand to hand balancing and acrobatics); Joana Dias (aerial hoop); and Zaki Musa (aerial pole).

Each piece lasted only a few minutes (the whole video was less than 30 minutes' long); but the pieces themselves were all incredible and beautiful. They all seemed to be dances, as their bodies and minds flowed in unison with the apparatus and their chosen music. These are artistes at the zenith of their artistry, and as such they make everything look so easy and so effortless. Freely flowing, combining power with gentleness, precision with a feeling of freedom.

There is a certain joy in watching something so aetherial and emancipating. From the seamless Latin rhythms of Dias's hoop dance, to the physical poise of a gentle power-play between Mathurin and Peppersack; their movements ebb and flow like the tide, and are somehow mesmeric.

For lovers of contemporary circus, this video is a must-watch!

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 26.8.21

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