What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 5, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 37 Circus Meets Ballet Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring' reinterpreted MONICA HOOPER NWA Democrat-Gazette A musical piece originally written for ballet gets a circus twist. Performing to Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," the critically acclaimed circus group, Circa, of Brisbane, Australia, will share their acrobatics on the Walton Arts Center Stage at 7 p.m. March 3 in Circa Sacre. The performance comes just in time for those of us in Northwest Arkansas to start dreaming of spring after a winter that doesn't know when to quit. Circa's artistic director, Yaron Lifschitz, says that each show takes about a year of planning from vision to performance. In the beginning of the planning process, "there are 10 or 11 artists on stage. You listen to the music, dream, get on the rehearsal room floor and see what happens," he explains. "The music guides you, but for 'Sacre,' we were composing half, during covid — so at a distance. I knew how I wanted the lighting design, and many of the ideas and languages came from this." Also called "The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts," Stravinky's composition so bothered audiences at Ballets Russes at the Theatre du Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1913 that a riot ensued after patrons couldn't agree over the avant-garde nature of the music, which is considered one of the first examples of Modernism. Despite its turbulent beginning, both the music and ballet have endured, and many interpretations of the ballet exist. When asked if the ballet informs the Circa Sacre performance of "Rite of Spring," Lifschitz said that they take a different approach "I don't know anything about ballet. This is circus — raw, real and very present." The performers in the show, he says "mostly trained as acrobats." "The Sacre by Circa" performance was lauded as "a performance of its generation, defying new techniques and new approaches to a traditional circus performance." The physicality in the performance and the stark, black box look to the production leaves so much of the music's interpretation to the performers. Lifschitz has been involved in more than 60 productions involving circus, theater, opera and other live events. According to Circa's website, his productions have been a regular fixture at leading festivals and venues in New York, London, Berlin and Montreal with seasons at Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Barbican Centre, Les Nuits de Fourvière, Chamäleon Theatre as well as major Australian Festivals. When asked how he incorporates nonspoken elements and dark humor into a production such as this one, he says: "I work with what I call languages — small structures of ideas translated into movement that one learns how to talk and becomes expressive with. These languages embody the key ideas and relationships I am working with. They then get structured into the performance. The physicality is mainly drawn from our ground-based acrobatics (tumbling and balances) and these are performed in 'Sacre' with various obstacles and challenges — it's a really tough show to perform — a lot of cardio and hard slams. But a very rich and rewarding one too." A circus-style "Rite of Spring" will be presented March 3 at the Walton Arts Center by the contemporary circus company Circa from Brisbane, Australia. The performance "tightly weaves together powerful world-class acrobatics and dynamic encounters suffused with dark humor and rich tenderness." "I work with what I call languages — small structures of ideas translated into movement that one learns how to talk and becomes expressive with. These languages embody the key ideas and relationships I am working with. They then get structured into the performance," says Yaron Lifschitz, Circa artistic director. The contemporary circus company will perform March 3 at the Walton Arts Center. (Courtesy Photos/David Kelly) FAQ Circa Sacre WHEN — 7 p.m. March 3 WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville COST — $18-$35 INFO — 443-5600, waltonartscenter.org FYI — Find out more about the group ahead of their Walton Arts Center performance at circa.org.au. FAYETTEVILLE