The show put on by Amici really put things into perspective for the whole of the audience watching. From start to finish, they kept us breathless and teary-eyed and I’m not usually the emotional type. I think I cried at least 4 times. Everything reached perfection in this colourful and powerful performance.
The show started with a very powerful piece where a paralysed dancer gracefully glided across the floor soon followed by a flood of ladies holding white umbrellas and holding them around him, making a screen on which was projected some footage of a tightrope dancer. Dreams are achievable if your belief is strong enough is exactly what you are thinking when, at this very point, the very same man bursts through the umbrellas and into the air, flying across stage.
That was the first time I cried. Running time: 2 minutes?
No amount of description will make this show any justice. Every participant was better than the other! But I just want to point out the other scenes that really got me.
First was a beautiful rendition of a Carmen scene, which for this circus was called The Love Pyramid. An ex- ballerina paralyzed from the waist down and her dance partners got the audience whooping and cheering at their romantic dance piece, on and off the wheelchair. I felt so much pride and admiration for this beautiful young woman, she was just so captivating and inspiring with her determination.
Then the duet between two severely paralysed dancers took me away again. They gracefully circled around, hands reaching out for each other, smiling wide enough to blind you!
It wasn’t just emotional, it was also really funny, with the strong men act and the opera singer failing trying to reach a high note … The full house audience was just always on edge to see what would be next.
This amazing performance was crowned with the final message that the company put through with the amazing ending. Two suited men, representing a corporate and norm-following society decide that these are no real artist and “burn” their circus down. How very accurately said. An amazing statement to what the arts are reduced to these days.: “Conform to what is commercial or you will be turned into irrelevant ash”.
But hope always lurks around the corner.
As for the Amici Circus, they represented this by each performer rising from that ash, holding a red balloon, brandishing them proudly over their heads. The great stage directing made the lighting fall onto the balloons to make them look like 20 red lanterns floating up.
It was a brilliant finale to a brilliant show, which really deserved that standing ovation.
For more information on Amici,, look them up on http://www.amicidance.org/
