MEDIA

This October NICA was selected to perform at the Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC) CIRCLE Program in France. Current students and graduates represented NICA at the 11th edition of the CIRCLE project. The performers, members of One Fell Swoop Circus, presented a 30 minute excerpt of their piece ‘By a Thread’ – a runner up in the Gasworks Arts Park Circus Showdown in 2016.

The FEDEC CIRCLE Program is presented annually as part of the CIRCa Festival: a festival of contemporary circus held in the town of Auch, France. Auch is an unusual town, in that it has purpose built circus venues and plenty of spaces for big tops that come into town all year round. A number of high profile international shows are presented during the CIRCa Festival in an intensive week of circus activity.

The CIRCLE program has been designed for the promotion of European and international students’ creative work and features participants from eight schools in the Federation of Professional Circus Schools. Montreal, parts of South America, NICA and the Flying Fruit Flies from Australia are full members of the FEDEC outside of Europe, due to merit in our school activities and international standing with our programs.

NICA’s last performance in CIRCLE was in 2009 so we were thrilled to send current students and graduates to the festival to present their inventive circus work ‘By a Thread’. Directed by graduates Charice Rust and Jonathan Morgan, the performance explores the relationship between trust and play on an innovative aerial apparatus.

     “Long spools of white rope run through pulley sheaves and wrap around bodies, explicitly connecting the artists’ movements above and off the ground. Like the booms and sheets of a sailing ship the performers are hoisted and swung by one another to create striking tableaux and breath-taking dynamics. The actions of one acrobat affect and implicate the movements of others in a careful negotiation of cause and effect.

By a Thread offers rich visuals of inventive aerial acrobatics from some of Australia’s best emerging circus artists. With intense training in a breadth of contemporary circus disciplines, the performers have pooled their knowledge and skills, and then exploded the traditional boundaries of these disciplines to create a show where classic techniques are used in expansive ways.   ” – One Fell Swoop Circus  

It was a rewarding experience to present NICA in an international forum alongside prestigious schools such as the Academy of Circus and Performing Art (ACaPA), Netherlands and the Ecole National du Cirque (ENC), Montreal. The feedback discussions after each performance provided great opportunities to discuss the work being created, the methodologies and future directions. NICA’s performance was well received and represented Australia wonderfully.

‘By a Thread’ was presented at The CIRCLE, CIRCa Festival on Wednesday 25th October, 2017

Credits
Directors – Charice Rust and Jonathan Morgan
Ensemble – Charice Rust, Jonathan Morgan, Ryan Darwin, Ela Bartilomo, Piri Goodman, Luke Thomas
Created by – Charice Rust, Jonathan Morgan, Ryan Darwin, Ela Bartilomo, Sarah Berrell, Emily Chilvers, Hamish Norris, Jordan O’Brien, Amanda Lee
Dramaturg – Zebastian Hunter Lighting Design – AfterDark Theatre Costume Design – Emily Barrie Sound Design – Lee Stout Photography – Aaron Walker

Read more about By a Thread
Read more about CIRCLE