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Flash Review 2, 11-1: Cirque, Unplugged
Eloize in California
By Christine Chen
Copyright 2001 Christine Chen
BERKELEY -- The Quebec-based contemporary
circus company Cirque Eloize, under the direction of Christine Rossignol, Jeannot
Painchaud, and Michel Dallaire, exhilarated Bay Area audiences at Zellerbach Hall
this last weekend with a well-honed show, "Excentricus." Created in 1997 and presented
in Berkeley by Cal Performances, "Excentricus" folds impressive circus skills
into a 90-minute romp of lighthearted play, quirky antics, and live jazz/rock
music. Unlike its more slickly produced cousin, Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize
does not rely on big budget set transformations, otherworldly illusions, masses
of talented artists, or an overarching theme or journey for its effect. Rather,
the nine circus artists and five musicians of the company take their considerable
skills to the proscenium stage in a character-driven display of virtuosity and
mirth.
Petra Lange's giddy girl character
starts off the evening's frolic with her substantial rope solo. Putting as much
value into the artistry of her transitions and set-ups as she gives to her tricks,
Lange twists, falls, and folds her body into and out of the rope. She tirelessly
performs innumerable tricks, moving up the rope each successive time with as much
ease as when gravity allows her to tumble down. The level of movement exploration
on the rope is the deepest and most innovative I have seen. All her feats are
presented without any of the usual circus fanfare -- the performer stays in the
stage-world and never solicits applause from the audience (the audience at Cal
readily obliged nonetheless).
Arguably the most virtuosic performer
of the show is Serge Huercio on his bike. Huercio slips his body on, around, over,
under, and through his bicycle with an inhuman agility and ease while peddling
and flipping it in every conceivable and unconceivable configuration (backwards,
upside down, spinning, standing, sitting, perching on the handlebars, and running
on the wheels). Huercio executes all this while remaining wonderfully in character,
with the erect back and inquisitive face of a bewildered yet lovable nerd. Probably
the most endearing character of the show is Jamie Adkins, whose nervously awkward
antics eventually lead him into a witty slack wire solo.
Noemie Sirard-Gervais and Ariane
Darche are less effective with their characterizations, portraying unsympathetic
and, at times, annoying women (Sirard-Gervais is a rebellious anti-socialite and
Darche is a chatty-Cathy). Both seem to go in and out of character and perform
the archetypal gestures of their characters without the humanity. What they lack
in character depth, however, they absolutely make up for with their technical
prowess and delectable artistry in their respective specialties. Sirard-Gervais
hooks up with Alain Boudreau in a seamlessly executed hand balancing duet, while
Darche joins Antoine M. Gagnon for a stunning aerial cradle section where the
two hang, swing and support each other from their apparatus rigged high in the
air.
Rounding out the program are performances
by Daniel Cyr on a ladder and acrobatic wheel, Robert Bourgeois on the mini-trampoline,
an all-male juggling act, musical interludes, and a full-cast bicycle pile. Transitions
between the acts are meticulously choreographed with an informal air. While they
still bear the look of a circus company searching for the best way to mask and/or
incorporate the necessary technical changes into the program, the clever free
associations, the controlled chaos, and the high energy of the musicians and the
performers integrated these shifts with a fun flair.
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