Page 22 - the NOISE MAY 2016 Edition

GO ASK Alice
FROM LEFT: Rowan Snider and con- tortionist caterpillar Laura Sutton prepare to step through the looking glass in Bacchus Arts Collective’s Alice.
StORy By clAiR ANNA ROSe PhOtOS By GeAN SHANKS
CIRCUS BaCChUS taKES US thROUGh thE lOOKING GlaSS aND DOWN thE RaBBIt hOlE
This May Circus Bacchus will lead us on a many-Aliced adventure in wonderland. Combining large hoop a performer stands in the center of, while they roll and spin. He saw a video online
some favorite parts from Lewis Carroll’s Through The Looking Glass and Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Flagstaff’s hometown circus will recreate the story on stage as only a circus can do — through aerial silks, lyra, pole, juggling, clowning, strong man acts, cyr, dance and acrobatic yoga.
new to Circus Bacchus’ repertoire is the spanish web — an aerial art form performed for the first time ever in Flagstaff at the show on May 7. Esther Smith — The Lady Dragon — will be performing on the spanish web as the Queen of Hearts. she has performed web acts in shows past, but the spanish web’s difference is its spinning capabilities.
narrated by The Mad Hatter, this show twists the original story in fun and flirty ways — the Red Queen and the white Queen will be doing a chair dance, while the white Rabbit is played by aerial pole extraordinaire Beth Blake. The great monster The Jabberwock will be interpreted through acrobalance and a many-peopled beast, the hookah-smoking caterpillar is played by a contortion artist, jugglers make the mad tea party madder, and the role of the white Queen is brought to life through belly dance.
Throughout the play different performers will embody Alice, and when Alice grows so large she is wearing a house, she’ll do what any Bacchus fan might hope — she’ll strip the house off!
Trapeze duo Morgan Louvier and Chad Willhite bring comedic relief in a rendition of the Red Queen’s croquet game. Mr. willhite, as the King of Hearts, wields Ms. Louvier, his flamingo croquet club, as they hang in the air.
“I’m going to be wearing a pink costume with feathers, as well as striking flamingo-like poses while upside down as Chad hangs onto me,” Ms. Louvier describes. “The plan is to look bewildered and less than willing as he swings me around.”
Ms. Louvier began learning flying trapeze at the age of 12 after seeing her father on the trapeze, and continued training until she was 18. “At the Trapeze U, we did a little bit of static trapeze, mainly for practice doing moves up on the flying trapeze,” she says. “when I moved up to Flagstaff, I started pursuing more static trapeze, and have come to where I am now. solo static trapeze is a lot of fun; I like doing it as well as duo trapeze because they’re both very different disciplines. I am more of a fan of the traditional circus style of the trapeze, with big moves, big smiles, and a certain wow factor.”
The aerialist isn’t satisfied with remaining a good trapeze artist, and continues to challenge herself. “I’m getting into some big drops on the trapeze, which used to scare me,” she shares. “But by overcoming that fear, I’m becoming a better trapeze artist, and I’m making a name for
myself in the aerial world.”
when Ms. Louvier moved to Flagstaff she thought she’d have to leave the trapeze behind.
while applying for jobs someone noticed her trapeze experience on her resume, and pointed her in the direction of Circus Bacchus. After receiving her number, the circus called her up, and she became a member in October 2013.
One month later, Ms. Louvier and Mr. willhite met at a circus meeting. “I had seen pictures of Chad performing on the silks, and I thought he seemed like a strong aerialist, so I contacted him and asked him if he would be interested in pursuing duo trapeze with me,” Ms. Louvier recalls.
The two began training together. Ms. Louvier taught him trapeze basics, and from there their repertoire of moves grew. “working as a duo with Chad has been awesome,” she says. “I trust Chad with my life, which I guess you kind of have to when you’re working with someone in a high risk situation up in the air. we’ve worked hard to lower the risks though, and have become stronger, smarter and more competent with certain trapeze skills. Chad and I have become close because of the challenges we’ve been through together.”
Eric Susak will be playing Alice on the cyr wheel. He first found out about Circus Bacchus through a student of his in the summer of 2013. His first role was in the Bacchus Family band playing piano. A couple months after he joined the circus he found out about the cyr wheel, a
and knew it was the art form he wanted to learn. “It just clicked with me,” he says. “I understood it, I felt like that was what my body wanted to do.”
He saved up and bought his cyr wheel in August of 2013, and began to teach himself by watching videos on youtube. It took only five or six practices before Mr. susak could do a basic spin called a “waltz.”
His first performance with the cyr wheel was in the fall of 2013. The performance was well received, inspiring Mr. susak to continue. when he isn’t on his cyr wheel, he’ll be playing lead guitar in the Bacchus Family Band.
strong Man William McDonald joined Circus Bacchus two years ago. “I got involved because my friend Kevin told me the circus lost their strong man. I had never considered doing strong man stuff until he mentioned it.” He had been doing the highland games, which required a lot of strength.
After receiving a warm welcome from the circus, Mr. McDonald began to research what it is a strong man does. In his first show he bent rebar, but he wanted to do something more. The idea for “will’s wild Ride,” was born. with a bar across his shoulders, and a person in the seats hanging from each end (so far up to 400 pounds), he spins around with them, faster and faster.
These days Mr. McDonald has a full hat of tricks: he can bend nails, juggle bowling balls, toss 35 pound kettle balls over his head, and performs a painful feat of strength: the human link. A rope is tied around each of his arms as people on either side try to pull them apart. so far no one’s been able to, even with five people pulling from each side. A new feat he is working on is lifting people up by his hair. He tells me he has to be careful he doesn’t scalp himself during the learning process.
The other regular act Mr. McDonald does is a duo dance performance with The Lady Dragon, while she balances on stilts. “I had seen a couple the other way around, with the man on stilts and the woman on the ground, but I don’t think our version exists anywhere else,” Ms. smith says.
The Bacchus Arts Collective’s performance of Alice will take place May 7 at 9PM at the Orpheum in Downtown Flagstaff. The following saturday at the Circus Arts studio Flagstaff Aerial Arts presents their youth student showcase at 3PM and their adult student showcase at 6PM, for a chance to see student aerialists of all levels sharing the skills they have learned this semester.
starting in May the Flagstaff Aerial Arts summer class session will begin — offering youth and adult classes from beginning aerial (where students can experiment with trapeze, silk and lyra) to single-apparatus focused classes (lyra, pole, silk, trapeze).
At the Coconino Center for the Arts July 11-29 Flagstaff Aerial Arts, Flagstaff Arts Council and Bacchus Arts Collective will once again be holding Funtown Circus Camp for youth ages 7-17. At circus camp students learn theatric skills, safety, stilt walking, hula hoop, aerial, clowning, juggling, set and costume design, and all other skills circus folk need to know. Registration for Funtown Circus Camp is now open. students can drop in for a day, or sign up for 1-3 weeks. every Friday at 12PM during the camps there will be a performance at the Coconino Center for the Arts.
Flagstaff Aerial Arts will also be hosting a summer youth Aerial Intensive Camp June 22-24. This camp is designed for beginning and intermediate students to become acquainted with, and improve their aerial skills, while building positive relationships with peers and developing a positive and empowering sense of self. There are only 12 spaces available, and registration is required by June 1.
| Clair anna Rose always asks alice! arts@thenoise.us
22 • MAY 2016 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us