THIS year's Udderbelly
Festival is now in full swing and promises a veritable feast of acts
between now and when it ends in July.
Among those making its
debut in the purple upside down cow tent is London-based Gandini
Juggling.
This nine-strong group
promises to wow audiences with its hour long show, Smashed.
A mesmerising mix of
circus and theatre, and inspired by the work of the late German
dancer and choreographer, Pina Bausch, Smashed will feature the
jugglers perform with four crockery sets and 80 apples.
"It's very
choreographed and has an element of dance within it although it's not
a dancy show," explains the company's boss Sean Gandini.
"There is no story
as such but there is a narrative running through it so different
members of the audience will take different things from it.
"But it's ornate
and fun and there is a real pattern to it with the apples.
"There is also a
theatrical context because it is based on the ideas, choreography and
dances of Pina Bausch and plays a bit with formality and the
relationships with men and women," he adds.
"We are not a
circus group, nor are we musicians or dancers but we do combine all
those elements with theatre and juggling within our act and we have
scores and mathematical notations to make patterns with the apples.
"It's also got to
be very precise so we practise between three and four hours a day
which is quite intense!"
The company was set up
20 years ago by Sean who was born and grew up in Cuba.
"I grew up in
Havana and was fascinated by magic and mathematics as a child,"
he says. "I started off doing a few magic tricks which included
a bit of juggling as most magicians know how to juggle but one day I
saw a professional juggler and it completely hypnotised me.
"I got obsessed by
it and taught myself - this was before the advent of all the circus
skills classes you could go to - and that was it. I was hooked!"
He came to London
started performing in Covent Garden where he met his Finnish-born
wife Kati Ylä-Hokkala.
"We met after her
career as a rhythmic gymnast had ended and she became as obsessed as
me about juggling," he laughs. "We set up the company and
that was it.
"I am very lucky
as I have a great team of jugglers. They are like my extended
family!" he laughs.
Since then, Gandini
Juggling has made a name for itself with its clever and intricate
juggling sets and has performed in more than 2,500 shows from art
galleries to palaces, street corners to stadiums.
But it is the first
time the company has performed at the Udderbelly Festival.
"We were
approached by the organisers when we were at the Edinburgh Festival
last year as they had seen us perform and thought what we do would be
a good fit for Udderbelly," says Sean.
"We are all so
excited to be here as the atmosphere is fantastic when you come to
the Udderbelly. Also, as we are based in London, to be doing a run of
shows on home soil is fantastic.
"It also means we
can indulge in our ballet addictions in the afternoon and do some
classes!"
As well as the 28-date
run the company will also be doing a 'come and have a go' juggling
lesson near the London Eye on the South Bank on Tuesday next week
(22nd April) at 4pm.
Anyone will be free to
come along, bring some apples, and try their hand at juggling, guided
by these world-famous maestros.
And Sean says they are
all excited about being in the purple tent.
"It's such a fun
thing to look at from the outside but inside it has a fantastic
stage. It's not very big - in fact it's quite intimate, but that's
great because the audience will be so close to the action and we hope
they will feel very much part of it.
"It's going to be
amazing."
Smashed is on
at Udderbelly between April 22 and May 18. Tickets from £12.50.
Visit www.underbelly.co.uk/ or call the box office on 0844 545 8252
No comments:
Post a Comment