A CIRCUS WITH A TWIST ~ Educational Tutorials

A CIRCUS WITH A TWIST

by Sanuj Srimal Hathurusinghe

Image by Rajitha Jagoda

Upon hearing the word ‘Circus’ the general in most people’s minds is of big cats leaping through fiery loops, death-defying equilibristic acts on tight ropes, knife throwing and red-nosed clowns with a pie in one hand and a honking horn in the other. Although animal-involved circus shows are quite unheard of in Sri Lanka, with the possible exception of snake charming and monkey dancing of gypsy people, what we have witnessed in movies and media have led us to believe that animals and circuses work in tandem.

But the modern circus has evolved way past using animals and cheap laughs and has become a contemporary performance art. Unlike the traditional circus, animals are not used in the contemporary circus which tends to focus more on overall artistic impact, character and story progression whilst using lights, costumes, music and traditional circus skills in order to convey the content in a thematic way. To us Sri Lankans, the idea of the contemporary circus is quite new and hardly any shows could be found locally. The closest I’ve ever come to experiencing contemporary circus is watching a movie made by the reputed Canadian theatrical entertainment company, Cirque du Soleil. The story was about a young woman’s quest in finding an aerialist but the plot escaped my mind shortly after the movie started as it was showered with breathtaking stunts and circus acts.

For many of us enjoying such a performance has been limited to the big screen but all hopes of Sri Lankan theatre and circus lovers, which basically is everyone, for a live show has finally come true as we are presented with the rare opportunity of witnessing a live contemporary circus performance here in Sri Lanka.

Cirque Lanka, a unique fusion of traditional Sri Lankan dance and music with a European new circus, takes place at Viharamahadevi open air theatre every evening. In collaboration with eight local dancers and drummers from Rivega Dance Studio, eight foreign performers originally from Prague, Czech Republic perform the Ramayana story with live music, drummers, traditional masks, acrobats, aerial acrobatics and fire effects and yet, in a highly artistic and poetic manner which captures the total attention of the audience.

The show starts when it is already dark outside. The darkness is manipulated by lighting a few torches on either side of the open air theatre at the opening act and setting the perfect tone for other acts to follow. The show starts off with a local dancing act and the more we get into the performance, the more of the stunning, circus movements are revealed. Rama and Lakshmana perform an immaculate and almost lyrical acrobatics act. Hanuma’s aerial straps act and Rawana’s Cyr wheel performance too is poetic yet acrobatic but the cynosure of the evening had to be the fire show and the aerial silk performance of Rama and Sita and the fire show of Ravana. Stunning aerial acrobatics performed while hanging from the fabric, dangling close to the roof of the stage with no safety measures was both astonishing and breath-taking at the same time. The fire show must have captured the most eyes as it illuminated the whole arena. Ravana working magic with a fire twirler and a fiery cube was evenly matched with fire effect-flame throwers who released flames to synchronize with the music.

Unlike Cirque du Soleil movies I have seen, the Cirque Lanka performance is not over-riddled with extravagant circus acts. The story of Ramayana and the acrobats work together in a fine blend never over shadowing each other. The performance is a work of art rather than a showpiece with only spectacles to offer. The limited space of the open air theatre is cleverly manipulated by the performers keeping the audience turning constantly in their seats. The performance starts off with performers entering the stage from either sides of the theatre. The open area between the stage and the first row of seats was a hotspot for activities as the performers came off the stage from time to time. Ravana who even walked among the audience looking at each of them menacingly with a fire twirler and a stern expression on his face might have been somewhat scary for the little kids but nevertheless was entertaining for the general audience. All foreign performers are experts in the field and are members of a new circus centre in Prague which concentrates on contemporary circus. Veronika who was Sita for the day has studied physical theatre as a subject before she went to Finland to attend a circus school. It’s her love of theatre and for circus that have driven her towards the contemporary circus. Jonas who was Lakshmana for the day has always loved movement in general. While in the States he got to know of the possibility of merging traditional circus movements and performance art. After coming back to Prague he joined the newly opened circus centre in hopes of pursuing contemporary circus. “We both are engaged in projects of the centre and we both teach subjects there as well” said Veronika.

Despite the show looking flawless and spectacular, it has taken a heavy toll on the performers. What to us feels like a mild evening is extra hot and humid and sweaty for the foreigners. “When we left Prague, it was already snowing there. The hot and humid environment here is really challenging and is hard getting used to” said Jonas. “The equipment behaves differently here. Everything aerial is stickier than it used to be and every partner is slipperier that they used to be” remarked Veronika. Because of this and because they are performing every night, only six out of eight foreign performers take part in the act everyday leaving two to have a much needed rest. “Because we leave two to rest each day, everyone has to master more than one role. I played Lakshmana today but some days I play Rama too. Veronica sometimes plays Hanuma and the girl who played Hanuma today plays Sita some days” said Jonas. According to Veronika having multiple performers playing the same role on different days has its own merits. Since two performers never are the same, the complexion of the overall performance shifts accordingly. “It is better to see the performance more than once because it never is the same when different performers play the same role” said Veronika.

The local dancing and drumming aspect of the show is provided by the members of Rivega Dance Studio. A group of eight - four boys and four girls, perform daily in the show. To Poorna Kasun who is a professional dancer of Rivega Dance Studio, working with foreign artists is both exiting and educating at the same. “We do traditional dancing as well as contemporary art forms in our dance studio. There is always something new to be learned even from foreign dance arts” said Kasun. According to Kasun it was their YouTube videos seen by the likes of Veronika and Jonas which had prompted them to pick Rivega Dance Studio as partners in this production. While it is all fun and smooth-going now, Kasun reflects on the hard times they had to face when they only had nine days prior to the start of the show to choreograph and master the whole routine.

Nevertheless, the show is now complete and it sure is a unique and all new experience for the locals in Colombo. The performance has something for everybody. It has history, it has theatrical element to it. Music, local drums and traditional dance could also be found. To top it all off, there are circus acts and of course, fire. The unique and never-seen-before infusion of traditional dance and music with contemporary circus is a must-see for everybody as it holds something for each and every one.
Published on Ceylon Today