The first time I ever saw Jamie Adkins perform was also the first time I ever participated in a CINARS event. At the time, he was performing a part of his previous show, Typo. Six years later he's back with Circus Incognitus and it's just as brilliant.
Honestly, I can't say enough good things about Jamie Adkins. He is one of those rare performers that simply makes you fall in love with him. His work is extremely creative, free of pretension, and masterfully performed. Jamie takes the audience by the hand and doesn't let go. He is charming, funny and has brilliant timing. But its the way he interacts with the audience that shows what a seasoned artist he is. Jamie takes whatever the audience or circumstance happens to throw at him and makes it work for him and the show. The best example of the CINARS performance would be the use of the line "Twenty-five minutes!", referring to the time limit imposed by the event. Incredibly simple, but it makes a show suddenly seem like it was made especially for the people watching it at that moment.
And the real life Jamie? I've had the pleasure of meeting him and was even in a show with him once (though I doubt he would remember me). He is the man he is on stage, which is to say friendly, funny and generally awesome. If ever you have the opportunity to see him perform, take it. His show may be geared toward a youth audience, but I guarantee, your inner child will be standing on its seat screaming and laughing along with everyone else.
A longer, but lower quality video, can be found here.
Showing posts with label CINARS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CINARS. Show all posts
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
CINARS - Inside Out (Cirkus Cirkör)
I hate to say it, but I really don't think this was a particularly successful sales pitch. I know I shouldn't even be referring to a show as a sales pitch, but that's kind of the point of CINARS. And its not that the show is bad, its that I had no idea of what the show was supposed to be, really.
For some reason, Cirkör chose to focus more on video that its actual artists. There were, of course, excerpts from the show, but they let the entire promo video (embedded below) run while a guy did some bad simple wheel in front of the screen. I can see how it might have been a good idea to show the very well filmed promo video, but next to the companies that actually performed coherent portions of their shows it just didn't work.
For starters, you couldn't help but wonder if the show is actually like that. Having an extremely visually stimulating video projected while some other visually stimulating thing is going on simultaneously in front of that visually stimulating video is just way too much to take in. You don't even want to look.
But worse is that next to the very artfully filmed video, the live version just looked, well, cheap. The worst part, for me, was the singer. Her costume, a long red dress and feathered head dress, screams elegance and power. But the woman in the costume was moving like a 15 year old grooving to some indie rock tune in the back of a bar. Speaking of indie rock music, for me, there was a serious disconnect between what was happening on stage (specifically, the Universe the artists were creating) and the accompanying music. When I see a decaying traditional circus that seems to have ripped the heart out of some unsuspecting audience member, I expect the music to kind of support that. And while I must admit it does work more or less for the video, it quickly becomes out of place during the live version of the show. Perhaps as a whole, this is not the case. I couldn't say.
My friend K, however, was beautiful. He's a slack rope walker and for me is a perfect example of what a contemporary circus artist should be.
I would definitely be curious to see this show in full, but not without a supply of ibuprofen.
For some reason, Cirkör chose to focus more on video that its actual artists. There were, of course, excerpts from the show, but they let the entire promo video (embedded below) run while a guy did some bad simple wheel in front of the screen. I can see how it might have been a good idea to show the very well filmed promo video, but next to the companies that actually performed coherent portions of their shows it just didn't work.
For starters, you couldn't help but wonder if the show is actually like that. Having an extremely visually stimulating video projected while some other visually stimulating thing is going on simultaneously in front of that visually stimulating video is just way too much to take in. You don't even want to look.
But worse is that next to the very artfully filmed video, the live version just looked, well, cheap. The worst part, for me, was the singer. Her costume, a long red dress and feathered head dress, screams elegance and power. But the woman in the costume was moving like a 15 year old grooving to some indie rock tune in the back of a bar. Speaking of indie rock music, for me, there was a serious disconnect between what was happening on stage (specifically, the Universe the artists were creating) and the accompanying music. When I see a decaying traditional circus that seems to have ripped the heart out of some unsuspecting audience member, I expect the music to kind of support that. And while I must admit it does work more or less for the video, it quickly becomes out of place during the live version of the show. Perhaps as a whole, this is not the case. I couldn't say.
My friend K, however, was beautiful. He's a slack rope walker and for me is a perfect example of what a contemporary circus artist should be.
I would definitely be curious to see this show in full, but not without a supply of ibuprofen.
Friday, December 3, 2010
CINARS - Les Parfaits Inconnus
Okay. There's only one word to describe Les Parfaits Inconnus and that word is fun. Very high energy, great characters, and live music made for a seriously good time. And I think they did a brilliant job of selling their show in the respect that if I were a buyer, I would know exactly the kind of show I would be getting. Not to mention they came off as incredibly charming.
Sadly, this is one of those examples of the disconnect between audience member and buyer. I really liked what I saw but the two buyers seated behind me didn't seem impressed. They were more enamored with the emotionally void Australians than these vibrant and zany guys! The base player, who had a wonderfully nerdy character, managed to maintain that persona while performing technical skills on a rola-bolla! For me, that's circus. Way more than just a salto all on its own.
Even more surprising, the friend I saw the show with (and a fellow circus artist to boot) felt that it had too much of a school presentation vibe and didn't care for it as a professional show. Hm. Its true it was quite silly, but I think the real issue is that the energy remained the same the entire 25 minutes. I can't really say monotone, because for me that means flat. This show was certainly not flat, but it could use some variations in energy. Then again, I only saw 25 minutes, so who could say?
One thing I really appreciated as an artist is that I learned something. I don't know that I've ever seen a better example of manipulating the audience to believe that the skills being performed are much harder than they actually are, therefore making the artist seem that much more impressive when they succeed. I don't mean to come off as cynical. I'm not. That kind of showmanship is a huge part of the circus tradition. To see it executed so well is a treat and certainly food for thought.
I suspect that the video below is of a much older version of the show. The version I saw had six artists, not four. But it still gives a good idea of what Les Parfaits Inconnus are all about.
Sadly, this is one of those examples of the disconnect between audience member and buyer. I really liked what I saw but the two buyers seated behind me didn't seem impressed. They were more enamored with the emotionally void Australians than these vibrant and zany guys! The base player, who had a wonderfully nerdy character, managed to maintain that persona while performing technical skills on a rola-bolla! For me, that's circus. Way more than just a salto all on its own.
Even more surprising, the friend I saw the show with (and a fellow circus artist to boot) felt that it had too much of a school presentation vibe and didn't care for it as a professional show. Hm. Its true it was quite silly, but I think the real issue is that the energy remained the same the entire 25 minutes. I can't really say monotone, because for me that means flat. This show was certainly not flat, but it could use some variations in energy. Then again, I only saw 25 minutes, so who could say?
One thing I really appreciated as an artist is that I learned something. I don't know that I've ever seen a better example of manipulating the audience to believe that the skills being performed are much harder than they actually are, therefore making the artist seem that much more impressive when they succeed. I don't mean to come off as cynical. I'm not. That kind of showmanship is a huge part of the circus tradition. To see it executed so well is a treat and certainly food for thought.
I suspect that the video below is of a much older version of the show. The version I saw had six artists, not four. But it still gives a good idea of what Les Parfaits Inconnus are all about.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
CINARS - CIRCA
The first company to present their work was Australia's CIRCA. I've got to say, I'm somewhat on the fence about them. Technically, they were very good. Very, very good. The artists moved with fluidity and maturity. They were strong, performed skills that were both impressive and creative, and clearly mastered their technique.
I particularly appreciated the way the women were represented in the show (well, the sample of the show I got to see, anyway). The women were just as powerful as the men, sometimes more so. For me, this was most apparent in the sports acro dance piece where both men and women acted as both porters and flyers. Often, I see women perform more skills that I can only describe as fluff, but these women were skilled, strong, and feminine acrobats. It was a pleasure to watch.
That being said, here's what leaves me on the fence: the skills were there, but for the vast majority of the presentation, nobody on stage gave me anything.
What I mean is, they were far too neutral. Of course, being neutral is a very possible state of being on stage, but the audience should still feel that the artist is present and fully engaged. There were many moments where I felt like the artists were just standing there, completely detached from what was going on around them or worse, oblivious to the fact that people were watching them. This was most apparent in the sports acro dance piece. There were many moments where I felt like the music was doing all the work.
There was a wonderful moment where a woman in sparkly red spiked heels walked all over and physically manipulated one of her male colleagues. The idea is spectacular, and while there was definitely more feeling that in the previous moments on stage, I still felt that the artists were holding back and that they could have gone much further with what they were doing/feeling. If the woman in the heels really was going all out, she wasn't able to fully transmit that to the public. If she can find a way to do that, that number would go from good to brilliant.
I would like to see this show in its entirety. Since I can't do that at this time, here's a video!
I particularly appreciated the way the women were represented in the show (well, the sample of the show I got to see, anyway). The women were just as powerful as the men, sometimes more so. For me, this was most apparent in the sports acro dance piece where both men and women acted as both porters and flyers. Often, I see women perform more skills that I can only describe as fluff, but these women were skilled, strong, and feminine acrobats. It was a pleasure to watch.
That being said, here's what leaves me on the fence: the skills were there, but for the vast majority of the presentation, nobody on stage gave me anything.
What I mean is, they were far too neutral. Of course, being neutral is a very possible state of being on stage, but the audience should still feel that the artist is present and fully engaged. There were many moments where I felt like the artists were just standing there, completely detached from what was going on around them or worse, oblivious to the fact that people were watching them. This was most apparent in the sports acro dance piece. There were many moments where I felt like the music was doing all the work.
There was a wonderful moment where a woman in sparkly red spiked heels walked all over and physically manipulated one of her male colleagues. The idea is spectacular, and while there was definitely more feeling that in the previous moments on stage, I still felt that the artists were holding back and that they could have gone much further with what they were doing/feeling. If the woman in the heels really was going all out, she wasn't able to fully transmit that to the public. If she can find a way to do that, that number would go from good to brilliant.
I would like to see this show in its entirety. Since I can't do that at this time, here's a video!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
CINARS
CINARS (Conférence internationale des arts de la scène*) is a concept that was developed in the 80s where artists, producers, buyers and artistic-event programmers from Canada, the Americas, Europe and Asia come together to discover productions of all kinds: dance, music, theatre or multidisciplinary arts. The first ever CINARS was held in Montreal in 1984. In a nutshell, CINARS aims to promote and facilitate greater touring opportunites of artistic productions and creations.
The other night I had the opportunity to see the circus segment of CINARS. My friend K just so happened to be performing with Cirkus Cirkor and while I came into town to see him, I also managed to score a pair of tickets to see the show!
'Show' is a generous term, of course. 'Showcase' is a better way of putting it. Four companies presented 25 minute versions of their shows in hopes of selling it to different producers.
Sitting in the audience was a very interesting experience for me. As a circus artist, I make for a very demanding (and critical) member of the public during a circus show. As an artist, I am most deeply concerned with what is projected from the artists on stage and what (if anything) they make me feel. For me, a truly successful piece consists of great skill and great emotional depth. Hearing what the business types had to say about what they were seeing, and witnessing what made them react most, was discouraging to say the least. Mind you, I did know at least one artist in three of the four shows being presented, so I did take their criticisms a little personally.
The point is, it would appear that what's important to me as an artist, both technically and artistically, doesn't mean jack in the eyes of the buyers. But then, they're not a 'real' audience either, so who can say who's in the right?
I was initially going to write one big long post on the whole thing, but I think to truly do the night justice, I'll need to do this Montreal Completement Cirque style, which is to say, multiple entries. That means as a reader, you get to live vicariously through me, and as the critic, I get to live vicariously through the artists!
Get ready for CINARS 2010, circus style!
* International Conference for the Performing Arts
The other night I had the opportunity to see the circus segment of CINARS. My friend K just so happened to be performing with Cirkus Cirkor and while I came into town to see him, I also managed to score a pair of tickets to see the show!
'Show' is a generous term, of course. 'Showcase' is a better way of putting it. Four companies presented 25 minute versions of their shows in hopes of selling it to different producers.
Sitting in the audience was a very interesting experience for me. As a circus artist, I make for a very demanding (and critical) member of the public during a circus show. As an artist, I am most deeply concerned with what is projected from the artists on stage and what (if anything) they make me feel. For me, a truly successful piece consists of great skill and great emotional depth. Hearing what the business types had to say about what they were seeing, and witnessing what made them react most, was discouraging to say the least. Mind you, I did know at least one artist in three of the four shows being presented, so I did take their criticisms a little personally.
The point is, it would appear that what's important to me as an artist, both technically and artistically, doesn't mean jack in the eyes of the buyers. But then, they're not a 'real' audience either, so who can say who's in the right?
I was initially going to write one big long post on the whole thing, but I think to truly do the night justice, I'll need to do this Montreal Completement Cirque style, which is to say, multiple entries. That means as a reader, you get to live vicariously through me, and as the critic, I get to live vicariously through the artists!
Get ready for CINARS 2010, circus style!
* International Conference for the Performing Arts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
