Photo: Arnaud Stephenson
Perfectly timed movements create the illusion of weightlessness in performances that combine ballet and juggling.
Artists always seem to be looking for new forms of expression. The Washington Post recently reported on a production that increases the challenges of two precise kinds of movement by performing them in tandem.
Sadie Dingfelder spoke with Sean Gandini, “the creator, the director and one of the performers of ‘4×4: Ephemeral Architectures,’ a mesmerizing clockwork of human bodies and juggling objects flying through space. …
“In the months of rehearsals that took place before the piece’s London premiere in 2015, there were plenty of unintentional ballerina clubbings. …
“When the touring group arrives at a new venue, the first thing the performers do is mark the stage with 60 pieces of colored tape. That’s about twice as many marks as other performances, [and] getting the measurements exactly right is crucial. …
“ ‘I called the show “Ephemeral Architectures” because it’s what I think dancers and jugglers have in common — we are both creating traces in the air, traces that only last for an instant, and then they are gone,’ Gandini says. …
“Despite the challenges, the performers of ‘4×4′ have dropped only a few balls in hundreds of performances,’ [Emma Lister, the show’s artistic coordinator and one of the dancers] says. Additionally, all of the dancers have picked up some juggling skills, and the jugglers have gotten into ballet.
“The marriage of juggling and ballet in ‘4×4: Ephemeral Architectures’ has been so successful, it resulted in one actual marriage. Six months ago, artistic coordinator Emma Lister tied the knot with juggler Sakari Mannisto. The two are now working on a new show together that combines their art forms.
” ‘Being married to a juggler has practical advantages as well as creative ones,’ Lister says.
“ ‘If I’m on the other side of the room and I want to toss him the car keys, I can make any kind of wild throw and he’ll catch it,’ she says. ‘On a day-to-day basis, it can be quite handy.’ ” More here.
I keep thinking that, for better or worse, this period in history should be fertile for artists seeking challenges — and should elicit many forms of juggling.
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