LOVE!
article by Kait Burgan
Blink Acro and the Vancouver Island Symphony – a beautifully choreographed cirque show set to classical music, making every piece the perfect marriage of movement and music! Not to be missed!
Dreams can happen in the blink of an eye, and for Blink Acro, those dreams are captured through contortion, hand to hand and unique acrobatic manoeuvres combined with a sensual grace that is captivating audiences around the world. Vancouver’s Blink Acro, a modern cirque entertainment company, has partnered with the Vancouver Island Symphony for a tailor-made world premiere, called LOVE! on Saturday, November 17th.
One of the performers coming to Nanaimo is Michelle Adams, an acrobat/flyer, currently living and training full time in Macau, China. She is studying with Franco Dragone of “The House of Dancing Water”. Dragone is known for his work with Cirque du Soleil and Celine Dion.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to perform with the VI Symphony,” Adams writes via email from Macau. “It will be my first time which is exciting in itself, but beyond that, it will be very powerful performing in sync with the orchestra. I am used to being fully immersed in the moment with only two others. To join many other artists playing on stage who are all so passionate to create amazing moments, there are truly no words to explain how amazing it will be.”
Pierre Simard, Conductor and Artistic Director for Vancouver Island Symphony and the cirque troupe chose from a list of music and they came up with exquisite pieces. Some highlights from the program include Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Debussy’s Clair de Lune, Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet, Brahms’ Serenade No.1 and Mendelssohn’s Symphony no. 4.
Adams, one of ten performers that will join the VI Symphony on November 17th, is performing the Russian Bar. She says, “there is nothing more thrilling than watching a life being catapulted into the air from a 4-inch bouncy beam on two men’s shoulders.” When this is combined with a live performance of Mozart Overture – “Le Nozze Di Figaro” the audience experience becomes even more enthralling. Adams chose this music specifically for its dramatic composition. “Every time it feels like it is calming down it picks up in a rush building the persistence of power and thrill; hearing it feels like Russian Bar to me. The music and the act are beautifully dramatic which make them go hand in hand.”
Jason Waugh is the Artistic Director at Blink Acro. He says they don’t work with music that would be played on the radio. “We’re always bringing new music into our performances and while this music is historic and in most cases, centuries old, working with an orchestra is an extension of our contemporary work. We’re bringing modern contemporary art in the form of cirque to traditional music. We don’t work with classical pieces as often as we should, and we’re excited about these shows.”
Poised between classic and contemporary LOVE!, with the Vancouver Island Symphony is the perfect blend of romantic musical gems from the orchestral repertoire and contemporary acts exuding sensual grace from one of the country’s leading cirque troupe.
LOVE! plays for two performances on Saturday, November 17th, 3:00 pm and 7:30 pm, at the Port Theatre.