A dynamic performance of Brave Space from Aloft Circus Arts from Chicago, Illinois. This circus and physical theatre performance, at Underbelly Circus Hub, is a unique, interactive audience experience that is memorable from the moment you enter the circus tent. An ensemble of six strong, athletic women work together to display incredible circus skills, teamwork and grace. The artists demonstrated a variety of jaw-dropping performances on numerous apparatuses, that kept the audience in a mesmerised state. The children in the audience were glued to the action and entranced by each new silhouette.
Brave Space is a bold presentation of trust, teamwork and absolute skill. Beginning with the performers completely sheathed beneath a large white sheer material. The lighting has been distinctively placed in a circular shape underneath the white material, that enables the shapes formed by the artists to appear silhouetted by the lighting placement.
The first artist to break out from underneath the material was raised to an extreme height. This perfectly set the scene for the entirety of the performance. The sheer white material is a clever set design that doubled as a stage prop, which rose to form an artist made tent.
The audience was invited in, with seating very close to the performers to “encompass, a wonderous world of circus”. The white colour pallet for set design and costumes allowed the shapes and silhouettes to stand out, against alternating coloured lighting of pink, yellow and blue.
The soundscape works harmoniously with the choreography, transitions and pace of the performance. It varied from overlapping voices of different languages, numbers and quotes to calming wind chime sounds. The artists were expertly rehearsed with attention to detail from musicality to finishing the line with a pointed foot. The ensemble choreography visually portrayed the teamwork and trust between the artists. Occasionally there were moments of too many skills performed simultaneously. This made finding a visual focus point challenging.
An absolute highlight moment was a hoop solo performed by a singular artist. The talented performer had immaculate performance quality and skills. As she hypnotised the audience with her balance and grace whilst performing extremely challenging choreography.
Patrons who have difficulty standing for long durations of time, sitting on the floor and mobility issues, may find it a challenging to fully enjoy the performance experience, due to the very limited seating options.
Brave Space, performed by Aloft Circus Arts, is an immersive, interactive, mesmerising performance by six incredible artists.
