Circus Life: South Africa
by Francesca Verga
Over the past two months various parts of Durban have played host to a troupe of circus performers from the Swedish Cirkus Cirkör. This initiative forms part of a three-year collaborative venture between the Bat Centre and Cirkus Cirkör, generously funded by the Swedish Cultural Council Kulturärdet, together with the National Department of Arts and Culture and the eThekwini Municipality.
The Cirkus Life show was performed pretty much wherever the opportunity presented itself, including on Durban's North Beach, the Chatsworth Youth Centre, the KwaMashu indoor sports centre, the Siphosapaletshe High School in Hluhluwe, and various venues in and around Durban's city centre. Paying performances (costing a mere R40) were held at the Bat Centre on September 23 and 24. The public awareness surrounding the performances was, however, disappointingly low given the audience attendance on both nights. Could this have been due to Durban's 'no show' audience that is renowned for minimal attendance? (This phenomenon occurs regularly, as large international acts tend to leave Durban out of their performance schedules.) Or was it due to minimal promotion and advertising of the project? Whatever the reason, the Durban public will hopefully have a chance to redeem itself, as this programme involving the BAT Centre and Cirkus Cirkõr is to continue until 2007, and we hope that the 'no show' attitude will not jeopardise the chance for those of us who are avid supporters of the contemporary arts.
The chance to experience the spectacular adrenalin-rush of the contemporary circus is usually limited to a seat in front of the television. However, nothing compares with the real thing.
The performances were based upon the touring show Cirkus Life, conceptualised by creative director and circus artist Jesper Joe Nikolajeff (a knife-thrower, juggler and escape artist). This sees a troupe of circus artists arriving unannounced in a graffiti-decorated circus wagon, taking charge of schools all over Sweden. To the children's delight, their presence interrupts school lessons, provides circus training and a performance. This particular show is street-performance based and easily adaptable, incorporating skills and the experience of a range of circus artists. The South African adaptation of Cirkus Life included accompaniment by musicians, a mind-blowing contortionist, a juggler and knife-thrower, a sword-swallower and fakir, an aerial-ring acrobat, an aerial-pole acrobat and a stilt-jumper amongst other spectacular acts.
Cirkus Cirkör is an international contemporary circus comparable to Canada's extremely successful Cirque de Soleil. Contemporary circus differs from what we as South Africans associate with the circus - there are no animals or red-nosed clowns. This art form is inspired and influenced by contemporary dance, theatre and street art fused with other forms of artistic expression. Cirkus Life is the creation of the children and youth component of Cirkus Cirkör, which explores to the utmost, the notion of contemporary circus as a tool and forum enabling forms of social contact across all boundaries. The educational component is used to encourage and instil discipline, providing skills and circus training.
Importantly, the Cirkör troupe is not here solely on a performance-based tour, but part of a moral-regeneration programme, that is currently teaching and training children from the Ohlanga Shelter in Inanda, near to Durban. The vision is to create a circus institution that can produce shows, facilitate training and ideally sew the seeds for a contemporary South African circus. However, as with any project of this nature, the overall success of the project is dependent on active support of governmental structures.
For more information:
Tel: (031) 332 0451
Email: events@batcentre.co.za
www.batcentre.co.za
