In a moment of perfect choreography, maybe even psycho-geography, shared with generations of families of Londoners enjoying a Spring holiday break we instinctively head to the Southbank. Inside the Southbank Centre we drop in to worship one London Icon with a penchant for a lycra suit at the David Bowie Aladdin Sane: 50 Years exhibition before swinging across to the Queen Elizabeth Hall to catch some more insane lads and lasses equally resplendent in lycra suits at circus group Circa’s evening performance of Humans 2.0, write Ed, Frida, Woody Gray and Tom Cheetham.
The lights flick on to reveal a stage full of writhing individuals but it’s not long before this vista of human perfection conjoins to perform daring feats of extreme physicality in an in-yer-face interface of circus meets modern dance, choreographed by Yaron Lifschitz to the pulsing rhythmic electro- classical beats of Ori Lichtik and all under Paul Jackson’s lighting.
‘Risky!’ whispers young Spring break reviewer Frida quite loudly from the edge of her seat as the beats kick in and human pyramids are constructed while bodies start flying through the air to be expertly caught one nanosecond before our already overstretched ambulance service would have been even more overstretched.
Luckily for us all at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Circa Contemporary Circus is one of the world’s leading performance companies, touring the earth from their base in Australia to packed houses in over 40 countries since 2004. The amount of time this ensemble spends upside down in 70 minutes of high energy vertiginous dexterity makes one think they must be homesick for their Antipodean roots.
The overall effect was dizzying and the audience delighted in the performance.
Ever ready to perform a headstand, our youngest reviewer Woody found it hard to take in the wonder of the company’s gravity-defying manoeuvres and was reduced to muttering to himself in the stalls, ‘How can they do the impossible?’. Georgia Webb’s reverse crab posture, whilst carrying a fellow performer, had this reviewer wincing.
But it would be impossible to single out members of the ensemble. Each dancer presented us with a vision of a harmonistic human coexistence as they fell safely into each other’s arms time after time. A standing ovation was well deserved, the audience possibly feeling the need to reciprocate with some physical exertion of our own as we all shuffled to our feet.
We were joined on this reviewing excursion by friends from Los Angeles, used to many a blinding spectacle in the Golden State, so teenager Tom has the last words, ‘Circa were fluid and effortless, like a unit moving as one.’ And so we moved as one back to the Jubilee line, performing some of our own lesser acrobatic feats along the Southbank as we headed home, inspired and enlivened as ever by our latest trip to the Southbank.
For ages 8+
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX until 16th April. Times: 7.30pm; Sunday matinee 3pm. Admission: £18 – £30.
Booking: www.southbankcentre.co.uk
