Dance Review: Cirkus Cirkur Rocks it “Inside Out” Creating an Imaginative Circus Story

Cirkus Cirkör captures the heart of New Yorkers in its new production of “Inside Out.”  Visiting their website (http://www.cirkor.se) prior to the show, I knew I was in for a treat, seeing a beating heart on my MacBook.

Directed by Tilde Björfors, who also founded Cirkus Cirkör in 1995, “Inside Out” the production is like an artistic autopsy of the circus, beginning with the circus show.  Coming into the theater, performers are already onstage milling about, making preparations for the performance, though this is part of the performance.  The lead clown welcomes the audience members personally, then pulls one onstage to help power the stage lights by pedaling a stationary bike. 

The performance begins rather light-heartedly, the entertainers downplaying their talents. They join in silly back-up dancing as each one performs their specialty trick.  Then the scene flips so the audience is now viewing the performers’ backsides as they perform their bows.  Suddenly we are drawn into the blood of circus life, celebrating and drinking, practice and play.  The characters are real people, just like we are as audience members.  The circus tricks become more impressive and beautifully elaborate on the story of personal struggle and growth.  The lead clown, often used in modern circus productions to shed light on social issues, addresses the audience with the big life and death questions.  Are you living fully, or is it possible that you are no longer living although your heart still beats?

Philosophical questions are left unanswered, the audience left to sort them out as the performance escalates with circus and theatrical elements.

The clown, Angela Wand, plays a funambulist (tight-rope walker) whose soulfull performance is both silly and endearing. Embodying the washed-up circus artist, she bourres about the stage in her ragged fairy costume as if she is the greatest thing to grace a stage.

Anna Lagerkvist does a fierce Chinese pole act.  The agility with which she climbs the pole makes me wonder who could ever doubt that we are evolved from monkeys, it is so natural-looking. Perching herself high at the top, wrapping her body round the pole in all sorts of ways, she then is suddenly freefalling down the pole to catch herself right before she hits the floor.  Each time the audiences sends up a unanimous gasp, then clapping and cheering.

Jay Gilligan presents an incredible juggling act, in which the drummer Erik Nilsson accompanies with quirky vocalizations and percussion.  This segment is definitely a highlight of the show, eliciting laughter and cheers from the crowd as Erik Nilsson plays off Jay Gilligan, teasing him for any slight fumble.  Jay Gilligan is a delight to watch as he moves with such exaggerated clumsiness that only a supremely coordinated individual can accomplish.  The handstand equilibrist, Jens Engman, impressively holds a one-arm handstand throughout some of Jay Gilligan’s long juggling sequences, vying for the audience’s attention.  Jens Engman has a boyish charm that adds to his appeal with his supremely erect handstands.

Mirja Tuulikki Jauhiainen and Sanna Kopra perform a breath-taking aerial trapeze act.  The duo are incredibly in-synch with each other, having worked together for over a decade. This act is amazing because of the potential danger and required skill, but even more beautiful because of the eloquent artistic expression of the aerialists.  André Farstand and Fredrik Deijfen are talented acrobats that join in with other cast members to do some incredible aerial propulsions on the Teeterboard. 

Cirkus Cirkör features live music provided by Irya’s Playground who have recently debuted album by the same name.  Irya Gmeyner is the lead singer who also helped found Cirkus Cirkör.  Elegantly dressed with a large plume feather headdress, her lovely sounds blend beautifully into the actions of the performers.

The stage design is fantastic, with beautiful backdrops that looked like they are hand painted.  Images are projected over parts of the set and performers, adding to the magic and illusion.  These fantastic light projections propel the themes of science and art and the idea that they are two sides of the same coin.

In “Inside Out” Cirkus Cirkör finds its way into the hearts of its audience members.  I am particularly impressed with the program notes, that read as personal stories of how each performer was drawn into the circus life, instead of the conventional listing of credits that can be boring and tedious to read.  Cirkus Cirkör has taken on a difficult task of performing formidable circus tricks within a theatrical framework, seeking to reach deeper meanings of life and death.  This is a wonderful and inspiring show appropriate for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.  Cirkus Cirkör breaks past boundaries of the fourth wall and the limited showiness of traditional circus to share a greater message with the world.

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Lea McGowan
Performance:  Cirkus Cirkör: Inside Out
Choreography:  Dag Andersson / Circus choreography: Christian “Vippen” Vilppola
Venue:  BAM The Gillman Opera House, Brooklyn, New York
Performance Date:  November 12, 2009
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