Renowned Australian company Circa returns to Montreal with Humans 2.0, an enchanting show that relies solely on the strength – and vulnerability – of its performers’ bodies.
Posted yesterday at 9:27am
For the tenth time since 2004, TOHU opens its doors to this Quebec audience’s favorite troupe. This love affair will undoubtedly increase with the presentation of the tour de force that Humans 2.0 represents.
There are no sets, accessories or extravagant costumes here. The TOHU Arena is limited to a simple white stage on which the light from the projectors plays. There is also no narrative framework or common thread that could serve as a link between the numbers. At Circa, the bodies of the ten acrobats are the papyrus on which everything is written.
For 70 minutes these bodies roll and unroll, curl up to unfold better, explode in a sudden impulse before falling gasping to the ground. These bodies, which tremble but do not break under the strain, combine movements with exemplary precision and intertwine in an inventive and daring choreography that at times borrows from the vocabulary of contemporary dance.
In rare cases, artists use apparatus for their nudes: straps, a rope, a trapeze. The latter, however, serve more as dance partners than as accessories for scaling the heights of TOHU. Particularly striking is the strap number, in which a performer multiplies syncopated gestures a meter above the ground.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The group numbers are among the most intriguing of the show.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The human towers are mastered here perfectly.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
At Circa, the ballet of the bodies is enough to create great paintings.
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The beauty of this show also comes in large part from the group cohesion, particularly in the aerobatic and balancing acts. At Circa, perhaps more than elsewhere, the acrobats need each other to rise and fall without injuring themselves, to elicit that tremor of concern and admiration from the audience. On an enveloping electronic music (signed by Ori Lichtik), they hypnotize us by connecting perfectly mastered movements without a break, sometimes with a cruel slowness that demands unimaginable physical strength from them.
However, in this very particular context, where each artist holds the life of their acolytes in their hands, it took some time to feel a real complicity in the looks and smiles. The only exception: a wearer with Herculean strength, whose bright and constant smile collided with the closed faces of her companions. Of all the artists, she is undoubtedly the one who has captured the hearts of most viewers. For the rest, the relationship between the performers and the audience remains rather cold, as if the very formal aspect of the proposal somewhat impeded the flow of electricity between the stage and the hall.
But despite this downside, Humans 2.0 remains an awe-inspiring spectacle of beauty, a true ode to the graceful power of the human body.
people 2.0
Until February 19 at TOHU