The Vaivén Circo troupe finally presents “Esencial” at TOHU

UPDATE DAY

Interrupted by the pandemic, the Spanish circus troupe Vaivén Circo finally presented its show “Esencial” on Thursday evening at the city of circus arts, inviting the public to play with it.

The iconic circular stage of TOHU was cut in half for the occasion, occupying only the back of the room with its rectangular shape. This new cut also allowed part of the public to sit on the floor.

Emerging in turn, in a jet of smoke and under a subdued light, the five artists of the troupe from Granada, Andalusia, had as accessories only wooden arches of different sizes and some rectangular structures, inspired by Waldorf's rainbow, this children's game.

Evolving, the staging was built and deconstructed before our eyes. The half-moons, under which a world map – which can be seen once assembled – has been painted, were used for the various stacks of artists, taking the viewer on a journey to Ancient Greece or even to the foot of the Tower of Babel.

On the ground, the play area, which is somewhat reminiscent of a kindergarten, is delimited by white ropes and a luminous tube which sometimes serves as the main lighting. In the right corner, a small backlit wooden table on which rest the same shapes, but on a small scale, gives a taste of the paintings to come.

With a sometimes playful and playful air, the acrobats presented over this short one-hour show their understanding of the circus through several disciplines, including balancing acts, tightrope work – captivating and strongly applauded by the audience. – and juggling. An original and well-thought-out number using assembled V-shaped structures.

The dancer and acrobat Raquel Pretel offered a beautiful Flamenco number, mixed with a bit of contemporary dance, performing to the sound of chimes, waves and wind. While a dynamic Chinese mast act called for collective effort, with the four members remaining on the ground providing stability with ropes, while also allowing the sails of a ship to be imaged.

A big family

The complicity and friendship that unites the five artists of the troupe, who have been playing together for nearly 15 years, was contagious and felt in the room.

“We don't share the last name, but we share everything else,” circus artist Emilio Lopez Arquillo joked in an interview with the QMI Agency, the day before the media premiere.

“For our tour, the children are with us and even the grandmother who came to help us with the children when we have to work. We are really in family mode”, he added.

Vaivén Circo was to present “Esencial” at TOHU in April 2020, but the pandemic decided otherwise. A disappointment all the greater for the whole for whom performing in Montreal is always an important moment. “Montreal is the queen of cities for the circus,” said the acrobat.

“Coming here, for a company from Spain, which has not had the chance to Coming too often outside of the Montréal Complètement cirque festival is a great opportunity. We don't have any training per se, we don't have a circus school like there are here and we don't have as many disciplines. The fact of being able to register in the program and to come and show in Canada, in Montreal, our interpretation of the circus is very special”, he specified.

“Esencial” by Vaivén Circo is presented at TOHU until March 18.