The public could only enjoy half an hour of the show, because the rain caused its suspension. To continue would have been too risky for a stunt show. But the time that was seen was enough to get an idea: magnificent.
First it’s one, then it’s two, then three, then it’s four… From individualism to collectiveness, The Pulse evolves on stage to show that unity is strength. “Un, dos, tres, qua, cinc…”, sings the Cor de Noies de l’Orfeó Català at the start of the show by the Australian acrobat company Gravity
Darcy Grant, the director, lit this show during the coronavirus. “It was created in the depth of the pandemic, cause and effect, it is like a wave, a heartbeat. This inspiration is like those waves of things that make us feel more organic,” he explains. On stage, 60 people stay there for the entire show. There are 36 singers from the girls’ choir, directed by Buia Reixach, and 24 acrobats. 12 is an especially malleable number because it can be divided by 2, by 3, by 4 and by 6, but if instead of a dozen acrobats you put two, then you can also divide this number by 8 and by 12.
With these combinations, Grant creates an infinite number of numbers in a chain, combining the acrobats in pairs, by towers of three, by groups of four… And everything evolves towards the community. The singers dress in black, each in their own style, and the acrobats dress in light grey, with baggy pants or a skirt, with leggings or a top and shorts or with a bare torso, each in their own way. And everything is harmonious, thanks to the music of Ekrem Eli Phoenix.
The movements between acrobatics are pure dance, and the coordination between the two groups, the singers and the acrobats, is perfectly choreographed. Although at some point it may seem like chaos, there is no need to suffer because in a second everything falls back into place.
On the stage there is no added element, neither a springboard to push off the jumps, nor a mat to cushion the blow when an acrobat falls from a height of three people. They are the springboards, and their muscles are the springs that propel the jumpers who do the pirouette. They are also the mats, who with the play of their arms welcome their companions when they throw themselves from the top of a human tower. The coordination is perfect. And the feeling of happiness among the artists is sublime.
Only a bunch of strings appear on stage, which they manipulate with great fuss. Everything suggests that some of the acrobats will suspend themselves and do stunts like those seen in a circus tent. But here the circus is more conceptual and the ropes serve to fill the stage with an effect that is close to the circus image that the public has in mind, with the effect of the lights and to symbolize the message of the strength of the community. .
The director of the choir explains that they have adapted the pieces they could into Catalan: “We couldn’t find a version of the children’s song Mary had a litlle lamb, until a singer from Sant Hipòlit de Voltregà taught us ‘La Maria té un chaiet que va with your head straight’, and that’s the version we sing”. Acrobats also say four words in Catalan.
But is what was seen yesterday at the Grec really a circus? Grant explains his process: “I think the Australian circus is so powerful because 30 years ago this more anarchic, more irreverent circus began to be set up. Already in the 2000s we incorporated many elements of contemporary dance. And, in my case, 15 years ago everything changed and all physical forms began to interrelate. I was interested in choral music, so everything, ultimately, is a pollination of the different disciplines”.
The show premiered in Adelaide, with the Aurora Choir of young voices from the Australian city. The collaboration with the Cor de Noies de l’Orfeó Català has been thanks to the support of the Institut Ramon Llull and marks the beginning of an international tour that will take 24 acrobats, 36 singers and a dozen technicians to perform in Montreal (Canada). ), Galway (Ireland) and Graz (Austria).
As in all the opening nights of the Grec Festival, there was no shortage of well-known and popular faces and, of course, the authorities. The former mayor Ada Colau, who has presided over the premiere for eight years, did not want to miss the gala, but yesterday it was Jaume Collboni, the brand new mayor of Barcelona, ??who occupied the preferential place. From the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga, was not absent and, among the politicians, there were also Xavier Trias and Ernest Maragall.
The synchronicity of dazzling balances of the Australian acrobats of Gravity
