Circo Para Todos, Children of the Andes

Review in Issue 12-4 | Winter 2000

Theatre may be considered to be the Siamese twin of circus, but for me it is dance and circus that are most strongly conjoined. Circo Para Todos' celebratory performance is living proof that the two belong together. From the moment the company burst on stage, filled to the brim with youthful enthusiasm and energy, to the grand finale, Circo Para Todos are a living medley of music and movement.

The company present a series of short pieces including ‘Las Muertes’, an excerpt from the full-length show. Day of the Dead skeletons crawl on the floor, leap in the air, and charge menacingly around the auditorium – stilts become balancing bars and little skeletons leap upon larger skeletons. The company exploit all the possibilities of the combination of stilts, acrobalance and dance – moving the action through different levels, using ground and air effectively.

Although this piece is the highlight of the evening, others are just as enjoyable. My favourite is a piece entitled 'Two Intrepidas', billed as the final fling of company founders Hector Fabio Cobo Plata and Felicity Simpson, who created and nurtured this circus for Colombian street children. They dance a Tango for stilts and unicycle; the strident beat of La Cumparsita played out in a whirl of wheels and flounced skirt, macho moustache and strutting stilts.

With Circus Space full to the brim with enthusiastic sponsors, excited children, tray-bearing waiters, and salt-dipped Margaritas, it would have been hard not to have enjoyed the evening. Circo Para Todos means Circus for Everyone – and it seems that that is just what it is.

Artforms
Presenting Artists
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Sep 2000

This article in the magazine

Issue 12-4
p. 24