I have for sure been watching a lot of circus performances lately, and this have made me very intrested in training once again. When I watch circus and other movements, I feel that I want to try it out myself!
Until I was 17, I practiced and competed in figure skating, but since then, I have just been training not so intense and with no special plan or goal. But now, my goals are directly related to various circus skills I have seen on stage (even though I am far away from reaching them).
Another motivation for increasing strengh is the fact that during the Foundation circus course I went to this spring at Greentop Circus, I did some aerial silks and static trapeze. I felt like I could get my head around the techniques relatively easy, but it was my lack of strength that slowed me down.
Now when I am thinking about how to do other disciplines of circus than juggling here in Luleå, I decided that while I am thinking about different opportunities it will help if I spend som time to build up some strength.
During my time at Greentop, I alway arrived early to class, so I spent about 10 minuets every morning trying to do a handstand against the wall. I have now pciked up that habit again, trying to build up some strength so be able to do a free handstand one day. This means that i have been slightly obsessed lately with reading about how to make handstands on the internet.
lördag 27 september 2014
torsdag 25 september 2014
Dreamy space bubble - Underart in Gothenburg
I am a big fan of Cirkus Cirkör's productions and shows, but I have never been a big fan of their trailers. I have seen Inside Out, Wear it like a Crown and Knitted Peace and loved the shows but not the trailers for them. The trailer for Underart is 10 minuets long with a man standing on his head in a fish bowl, and that it all. It is not very up beat, but it is interesting. The trailer certainly don't give anything away.
Underart is a clean and futuristic show about the director and former acrobat Olle Strandberg's crach when he broke his neck, and the way back again. I could imagine that in that jump, it felt like time was slowing down and during just a second a thousand thoughts would run through your mind. That is the feeling I got from the show.
There where very different circus skills showed in this show from Methinee Wongtrakoon (acrobat), Alexander Dam (street dance), Matias Salmenaho (juggling and acrobatics), Iris Pelz and Christpher Schlunk (partner acrobatics). I especially liked the group performances with hoola hoop or som kind of dance where enev the musicians join in!
Methinee Wongtrakoon does some interesting movement, maybe reflecting how it is when you loose the control of your body. The street dance by Alexander Dam was also very good with his locking moves. he also did a balancing act that I dont want to give away but I watched from beginning to end with out closing my eyes even if it was a very slow paced number.
The partner and group acrobatics was impressive with the strength and coordination between Matias Salmenaho, Iris Pelz and Christpher Schlunk.
The muic for this show is made by the duo Ripple and Murmur (Anna Ahnlund and Andreas Tengblad), and I really like their dreamy electronic sound. I would actually have been very happy to attend a concert with only them as well. Their music matches the visual theme and the acts well. They both play the guitar, bass, violin, and my favourite instrument theremin!
Even though I liked the individual parts I couldn't really see the connection to Olle Strandbergs crash landing, and the tension and pace (with some exceptions) was quite the same. I think it has more potential that the current state, with some more changes. I would have liked to see more from this show, and to me this one doesn't beat Knitting Peace or Wear it like a Crown.
But if you have seen the trailer and then the show: Don't worry: There will be headstands in glass bowls!
Cirkus Cirkör's Underart homepage (SWE/ENG)
Underart is a clean and futuristic show about the director and former acrobat Olle Strandberg's crach when he broke his neck, and the way back again. I could imagine that in that jump, it felt like time was slowing down and during just a second a thousand thoughts would run through your mind. That is the feeling I got from the show.
There where very different circus skills showed in this show from Methinee Wongtrakoon (acrobat), Alexander Dam (street dance), Matias Salmenaho (juggling and acrobatics), Iris Pelz and Christpher Schlunk (partner acrobatics). I especially liked the group performances with hoola hoop or som kind of dance where enev the musicians join in!
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| Image Source |
The partner and group acrobatics was impressive with the strength and coordination between Matias Salmenaho, Iris Pelz and Christpher Schlunk.
The muic for this show is made by the duo Ripple and Murmur (Anna Ahnlund and Andreas Tengblad), and I really like their dreamy electronic sound. I would actually have been very happy to attend a concert with only them as well. Their music matches the visual theme and the acts well. They both play the guitar, bass, violin, and my favourite instrument theremin!
Even though I liked the individual parts I couldn't really see the connection to Olle Strandbergs crash landing, and the tension and pace (with some exceptions) was quite the same. I think it has more potential that the current state, with some more changes. I would have liked to see more from this show, and to me this one doesn't beat Knitting Peace or Wear it like a Crown.
But if you have seen the trailer and then the show: Don't worry: There will be headstands in glass bowls!
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| Image source |
Cirkus Cirkör's Underart homepage (SWE/ENG)
Mezmerizing lightbulbs - Glitch at Umeå contemporary circus festival
It has been a while and I have still many thoughts and reviews from the Umeå contemporary circus festival that I want to share with you!
Now is the time to write about G.L.I.T.C.H, a solo juggling show by Johan Wellton. The show had a sneak premiere in Umeå before the official premiere th 18th of september at Vara konserthus.
During the festival I heard a lot of discussion about if circus i art or entertainment, and when I ased the writer Margareta Sörensson, she answered that she though La Soirée was entertainment, but G.L.I.T.C.H was art.
When we entered the room, tha show had already started. Johan Wellton was on the stage, holding a monologe very expressive about the stress in life and not knowing it which direction to go. While he was holding this monologe, he did some really amazing juggling tricks that could have been the finale for most other jugglers. But Wellton is lost in is thought, thinking about his life doing this technically advanced juggling.
"-And I was waiting for her, but she never came...I thought maybe we could have a nice time and drink some tea. Where is she? I made two cups of tea, put them nicely on the table, arranged them, rearranged them, and waited for her. She had still not showed up... and the tea got cold, so I made two new cups of tea. But what should I do with the other cold cups of tea? take them away, and pretend that I haven't been waiting, or leave them so she could see them? The two new cups got cold too, and she didn't arrive, so I made two new cups of tea! But what to do?!"
This is a part of the monolouge that I remember the clearest for some reson (translated and writted down very freely though). He was talking faster and faster and I felt familiar with this feeling that you are "juggling you everyday life" fast and fast but have no idea of why we do it. Why do we stress and care so much about things that may not matter? Why are we not happy with nothing but the perfect? My feeling was that Wellton was addressing these questions in the first part of the show.
Then it all speeds up even more, until things set on fire, fall from the floor and Wellton is almost angry and stressed and suddendly finds himself crashed on the floor.
The the show suddendly changes everything and the rig with the pendulum lights is suddendly present. It all consist of a bar in the roof, with cords of hangling lighted light bulbs. I was mesmerized just by the view of this.
Wellton then starts to "juggle" the hangling light bulbs i different ways to a soft background music in enjoyment. Besides the patters made from the swinging light bulbs, I also appriciated the technical aspects of the light bulb rig. There was one part where Wellton was playing music by juggling them, with a camera regristrating where the light bulbs where to give the corresponding sound.
From beeing a chaotic and hectic show, it goes to a very peaceful lightbulb swinging, and I could have be watching that part longer. In the end, he is almost not touching the bulb, but just like us watching them making their own patterns in the air with a light trace following them. Maybe the lightbulbs are ideas and thoughts that are finally breaking free?
Visit Johan Welltons homepage (SWE/ENG)
Read more about GLITCH (In Swedish)
Expressen
Västerbottenskuriren
Now is the time to write about G.L.I.T.C.H, a solo juggling show by Johan Wellton. The show had a sneak premiere in Umeå before the official premiere th 18th of september at Vara konserthus.
During the festival I heard a lot of discussion about if circus i art or entertainment, and when I ased the writer Margareta Sörensson, she answered that she though La Soirée was entertainment, but G.L.I.T.C.H was art.
When we entered the room, tha show had already started. Johan Wellton was on the stage, holding a monologe very expressive about the stress in life and not knowing it which direction to go. While he was holding this monologe, he did some really amazing juggling tricks that could have been the finale for most other jugglers. But Wellton is lost in is thought, thinking about his life doing this technically advanced juggling.
"-And I was waiting for her, but she never came...I thought maybe we could have a nice time and drink some tea. Where is she? I made two cups of tea, put them nicely on the table, arranged them, rearranged them, and waited for her. She had still not showed up... and the tea got cold, so I made two new cups of tea. But what should I do with the other cold cups of tea? take them away, and pretend that I haven't been waiting, or leave them so she could see them? The two new cups got cold too, and she didn't arrive, so I made two new cups of tea! But what to do?!"
This is a part of the monolouge that I remember the clearest for some reson (translated and writted down very freely though). He was talking faster and faster and I felt familiar with this feeling that you are "juggling you everyday life" fast and fast but have no idea of why we do it. Why do we stress and care so much about things that may not matter? Why are we not happy with nothing but the perfect? My feeling was that Wellton was addressing these questions in the first part of the show.
Then it all speeds up even more, until things set on fire, fall from the floor and Wellton is almost angry and stressed and suddendly finds himself crashed on the floor.
 |
| Picture from www.johanwellton.com |
The the show suddendly changes everything and the rig with the pendulum lights is suddendly present. It all consist of a bar in the roof, with cords of hangling lighted light bulbs. I was mesmerized just by the view of this.
Wellton then starts to "juggle" the hangling light bulbs i different ways to a soft background music in enjoyment. Besides the patters made from the swinging light bulbs, I also appriciated the technical aspects of the light bulb rig. There was one part where Wellton was playing music by juggling them, with a camera regristrating where the light bulbs where to give the corresponding sound.
From beeing a chaotic and hectic show, it goes to a very peaceful lightbulb swinging, and I could have be watching that part longer. In the end, he is almost not touching the bulb, but just like us watching them making their own patterns in the air with a light trace following them. Maybe the lightbulbs are ideas and thoughts that are finally breaking free?
Visit Johan Welltons homepage (SWE/ENG)
Read more about GLITCH (In Swedish)
Expressen
Västerbottenskuriren
söndag 14 september 2014
Unexpected expressional acrobatics - Knee Deep review
At Umeå contemporary circus festival Knee Deep was completely sold out, so I was so happy that it was possible to see them in Piteå yesterday. In Piteå, I was surprised that it was not so many people in the audience, but I really liked the scale of the scene: It was a small theater hall and I was on the first row.
Knee Deep starts with the acrobat Emma Serjant walking on eggs, setting the egg and wine bottle theme that runs loosely through the show. Just like eggs, the human body can be both fragile but strong when many of them are put together. When they drop the egg from at three man high, it also reminds us how easily it breaks and that circus always involves some form of risk.
Knee Deep is a four person acrobatic show performed by Circus Casus from Brisbane, Australia. The show has a decorticated set with almost nothing on stage except the performers. The show starts with a routine of group acrobatics that shows amazing skills from the acrobats. The acrobatic numbers are mixed up with mostly aerial, but also some other acts.
The group acrobatic number where the one I liked the most. More towards the end there were one performed to more upbeat music that I preferred to the first one, but I really like how they moved in different way and did some very unexpected moves. It was refreshing to see that even if the group consist of one woman and three men, the all base and fly equally through the routine. Sometimes I really wished that there where more elements borrowed from dance to fill in the spaces between the acrobatic moves. I liked the part in the end where one of them did some arm movements like he was controlling the others with a force to do some moves.
The aerial parts seemed a little unpolished in this performance. I could see some mistakes in the silks, but they where well covered up. The straps started up by some moves that looked like they where from rope to me, which I have not seen much. In the end, there was a nice four person group trapeze. In this trapeze act they switched a lot between the moves and who would do them, but they where never all four in the trapeze. The aerial contributed with some change to the acrobatic acts.
There was no manipulation in the show expect from a hula hoop act. Men are not often seen on stage doing hula hoop, so it was nice to see. It started of with three of them on stage, and I thought about how we did hula hoop on the school yard. Then the two in the background "grow up" and stops hooping, while the one in the middle continue and does a nice little routine. Some other review I have read though this didn't fit into the show, but I liked the unexpected variation in the pace of the show.
My favorite act in the show was actually not the last act, but the later group acrobatics because I could see the joy in their eyes while doing all their acrobatic tricks.
To sum this up, I enjoyed some of the unconventional parts of the show, as well as the intense expressions of the performers. There are some details to be improved, but to sum it up Knee Deep is an unpolished diamond.
Link to Casus Circus homepage
Knee Deep starts with the acrobat Emma Serjant walking on eggs, setting the egg and wine bottle theme that runs loosely through the show. Just like eggs, the human body can be both fragile but strong when many of them are put together. When they drop the egg from at three man high, it also reminds us how easily it breaks and that circus always involves some form of risk.
Knee Deep is a four person acrobatic show performed by Circus Casus from Brisbane, Australia. The show has a decorticated set with almost nothing on stage except the performers. The show starts with a routine of group acrobatics that shows amazing skills from the acrobats. The acrobatic numbers are mixed up with mostly aerial, but also some other acts.
 |
| Image source |
The group acrobatic number where the one I liked the most. More towards the end there were one performed to more upbeat music that I preferred to the first one, but I really like how they moved in different way and did some very unexpected moves. It was refreshing to see that even if the group consist of one woman and three men, the all base and fly equally through the routine. Sometimes I really wished that there where more elements borrowed from dance to fill in the spaces between the acrobatic moves. I liked the part in the end where one of them did some arm movements like he was controlling the others with a force to do some moves.
The aerial parts seemed a little unpolished in this performance. I could see some mistakes in the silks, but they where well covered up. The straps started up by some moves that looked like they where from rope to me, which I have not seen much. In the end, there was a nice four person group trapeze. In this trapeze act they switched a lot between the moves and who would do them, but they where never all four in the trapeze. The aerial contributed with some change to the acrobatic acts.
There was no manipulation in the show expect from a hula hoop act. Men are not often seen on stage doing hula hoop, so it was nice to see. It started of with three of them on stage, and I thought about how we did hula hoop on the school yard. Then the two in the background "grow up" and stops hooping, while the one in the middle continue and does a nice little routine. Some other review I have read though this didn't fit into the show, but I liked the unexpected variation in the pace of the show.
 |
| Image source |
My favorite act in the show was actually not the last act, but the later group acrobatics because I could see the joy in their eyes while doing all their acrobatic tricks.
To sum this up, I enjoyed some of the unconventional parts of the show, as well as the intense expressions of the performers. There are some details to be improved, but to sum it up Knee Deep is an unpolished diamond.
Link to Casus Circus homepage
lördag 6 september 2014
Having a great time at the contemporary circus festival in Umeå
The contemporary circus festival in Umeå is amazing!
Beeing a volonteer at this festival has been nice since we often ca see the shows we are working at, and if there are tickets left over we can attend all other shows for free! So far I have attended or worked at La Soiree, Flown and GLITCH, and they were all good and very different. I will write some more in dept reviews when I am back home.
Also, I have attended two very interesting seminars: one called Circus i norr (circus in the north) and one called Nycirkusens historia (The history of new circus).
I feel so inspired by this festival!
onsdag 3 september 2014
Umeå contemporary circus festival
This weekend is the Umeå contemporary circus festival, and since I love watching circus I am definitely going! It started the 29th of August but I will join this weekend.
I will attend the circus festival as a volunteer because I think it is important to work for projects like this one, but also to get the opportunity to get behind the scenes.
The Umeå contemporary circus festival is the first international contemporary circus festival in Sweden ever, with many different seminars, street shows and acts. There will be seven productions and over 30 shows!
I am especially looking forward to the show "Glitch" by the juggler Johan Wellton, since I both like juggling and the idea of a glitch between how you are and what society expects and thinks of you (because that how I interpret the trailer). I like the picture of all the swinging lamps in the patterns because it looks a little like poi spinning patterns.
Here you can watch the trailer for the show Glitch:
I am so happy to go there!
The program for Umeå contemporary circus festival can be found here
The program as PDF
Homepage for the festival
I will attend the circus festival as a volunteer because I think it is important to work for projects like this one, but also to get the opportunity to get behind the scenes.
The Umeå contemporary circus festival is the first international contemporary circus festival in Sweden ever, with many different seminars, street shows and acts. There will be seven productions and over 30 shows!
I am especially looking forward to the show "Glitch" by the juggler Johan Wellton, since I both like juggling and the idea of a glitch between how you are and what society expects and thinks of you (because that how I interpret the trailer). I like the picture of all the swinging lamps in the patterns because it looks a little like poi spinning patterns.
Here you can watch the trailer for the show Glitch:
I am so happy to go there!
The program for Umeå contemporary circus festival can be found here
The program as PDF
Homepage for the festival
måndag 1 september 2014
Performance at the welcome dinners at uni
Lately there has been a lot of activity in the poi and staff spinning group at uni. During the weekend there has been three welcome dinners where we had a performance. The theme for this year was "Myths and legends".
We had an approximately 3,5 min performance with one LEDdevil stick, two staffs, one double staff and two poi. In the end we were all five on stage to an editet version of Adrian Zieglers Prophency! We also had a funny encore where we danced to the Swedish Eurovision participant Roger Pontare. In the end of this post you can listen to the music.
We had been developing the performance itself during quite a long time, since we had all been working during the summer, but I am happy with how it turned out in the end. The story was that a girl with a LED devil stick walks in a forest where the trees (the two staffs and the double staff) come to life. The two evil forest elfs scares them away (the other poi girl and me), but in the end the good side won!
You can see some pictures here taken by Marie Eriksson:
We didn't get as much applauses at some spots where we expected to get them, but later I heard that the audience was so amazed that they forgot to give some rounds of applauses. Maybe we can develop a better way of making pauses and applause points?
Here is the music for the performances (but we used edited versions).
Main performance:
We had an approximately 3,5 min performance with one LEDdevil stick, two staffs, one double staff and two poi. In the end we were all five on stage to an editet version of Adrian Zieglers Prophency! We also had a funny encore where we danced to the Swedish Eurovision participant Roger Pontare. In the end of this post you can listen to the music.
We had been developing the performance itself during quite a long time, since we had all been working during the summer, but I am happy with how it turned out in the end. The story was that a girl with a LED devil stick walks in a forest where the trees (the two staffs and the double staff) come to life. The two evil forest elfs scares them away (the other poi girl and me), but in the end the good side won!
You can see some pictures here taken by Marie Eriksson:
We didn't get as much applauses at some spots where we expected to get them, but later I heard that the audience was so amazed that they forgot to give some rounds of applauses. Maybe we can develop a better way of making pauses and applause points?
Here is the music for the performances (but we used edited versions).
Main performance:
Encore:
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