Which trends were observed?
It is not without reason that the 47th Monte Carlo Circus Festival could be described as the comeback of the Chinese troupes. While their performances in recent years have tended to fall short of the traditionally high expectations, this time they had something spectacular to offer.
First and foremost the China National Acrobatic Troupe: The bicycle act called "Wind Chasers" brings together 14 acrobats in the ring and, after various skilful jumps and pyramids, culminates in a run over the backs of 13 people riding bicycles one behind the other. They had just thrilled the audience at Flic Flac's X-Mas Show in Nuremberg, and now they have deservedly won gold in Monte Carlo.
The Zhejiang Acrobatic Troupe arrived in a smaller formation. The antipode trio balances and circles up to five umbrellas on the hands and feet of the top man in a three-person high. The jury awarded this spectacular extension of the antipode genre a silver award.
What else was spectacular?
The flying trapeze act of the Caballeros from Mexico had the most spectacular trick to offer: the legendary quadruple somersault. Unique in the history of the genre, three artists from the troupe mastered this trick - and performed it to growing enthusiasm in the big top. The number ends quite abruptly with the three quadruples to slow, suspenseful music. Following the typical dramaturgy of performances on the flying trapeze, one would have wished for a nice passage to watch at the end. So it is more of an individual skill performance, but it is more than convincing and honored with the Golden Clown.
The third gold went to a performance that was as spectacular as it was traditional. The Dzhigit riding troupe from Turkmenistan has seven male and two female riders. To the driving sounds of folk music, they show everything that this form of trick riding, which originates from the military tradition, has to offer. The highlight is when a rider dives under the torsos of two horses galloping in parallel, only to then stand up again on the two horses' backs.
What was innovative?
Although already known from their participation in Cirque de Demain 2019, the Swedish acrobats of the “Scandinavian Boards” still deserve the title of the most innovative act for me. They use the staggered arrangement of three teeterboards for jump relays with the virtuosity of a symphony. The number (six) together with the skill of the acrobats guarantee a flow that a duo or trio number typical of the genre does not achieve. Visually committed to Scandinavian minimalism, this performance has no knickknacks. Its beauty lies in the quasi-geometric consistency of each jump, sometimes parallel and sometimes crosswise, sometimes synchronous and sometimes offset. No movement is just decoration, each one supports the effect of the trick. Great.
Erdene Nerguis's troupe “Mongolian Circus Production” choses a different approach, with which the circus producer continued his collaboration with Dmitry Chernov in creating ever new group acts. The prop here is the innovation: a central pedestal to which two teeterboard-like jibs are attached with rubber bands in such a way that the bounce catapults the artists jumping on them into the air. What looks new and complex, however, seems rather ordinary in the jumping sequences and technically falls short of the "faster, higher, further" claim of the other Asian troupe performances. But the development of the troupe remains interesting to watch, as the young artists competed in the "New Generation" category, in which they won bronze.
In the same category, also from Mongolia, the troupe Bud-X Roses came and won the Golden Junior. The innovation here lies in the combination of contortion and movement on hoverboards. The sequence of the performance, with neon-colored costumes completely wrapped in blue light, was a little diffuse overall, although a strong performance. It was not entirely clear why an acrobat in the background was constantly balancing in a handstand on one cane - the enormous performance in itself either gets lost or distracts from the core of the number. The feeling for eight-year-old Bud Chinguudin (the youngest at the festival), who had to take on this part, fluctuated between admiration and pity.
What was dreamlike?
The duo Luna Girls offer the perfect blend of grace, skill and risk on the aerial hoop. The performance, choreographed by Marina Luna and presented together with her partner Marika Ashley, is simply a dream of flowing movements that lead to increasingly unusual tricks - for example when Marina, doing the splits vertically, only holds her partner, also doing the splits, by the ankle.
The Hermanos Acero impress with their pure power in their partner acrobatics. With their slow, deliberate movements, the two radiate a tranquillity that takes your breath away when tey do the most difficult tricks - such as running head-to-head down the stairs and back up again. For me, however, the strongest moment is when a backward jump that abruptly interrupts the tranquility is landed safely in a handstand on the partner's hands.
What was unusual?
"Triple Breath" from Uzbekistan offers a welcome change from the stylistic uniformity of today’s mostly South American high-wire acts. The trio, consisting of two men and one woman, opens its performance with a three-person-high run to the sound of a tense drum roll - and immediately captivates you. This is followed by extraordinary tricks such as perche balances while running across the wire. The director of the brilliant performance, which is full of variety and opulent presentation, is Kristina Vorobeva, who already achieved Monte Carlo fame as an aerial artist with the Sky Angels.
The acrobatics on the aerial silks by Alan Silva, who comes from Brazil, are certainly unique. His special physique as a midget does not prevent him from achieving top acrobatic feats; on the contrary, he uses it for extraordinary tricks full of pure power.
What was funny?
You either have to like typical South American clowning or you don't. Opinions are divided on Pastelito de Chile and Pastelito Junior: some find them lively and charming, others hyperactive and diffuse. They are undoubtedly acrobatic and musical all-rounders. Personally, however, I find their clowning lacking in quiet tones and creative storylines.
More to my taste is the verbal comedy enriched with all kinds of artistic interludes by the American-Swiss duo Full House, consisting of Gaby Schmutz and Henry Camus, who are also a married couple in real life. From Roncalli (Osnabrück) to Monte Carlo, they had to switch their reprises to French, but according to their own statements, they can perform their acts in around six and a half languages. While the Pastelito clowns received silver, they came away empty-handed - tastes are very different when it comes to clowning.
Who were the newcomers?
In addition to the troupe performances already mentioned, the Trio Balkanski from Bulgaria and Dmitro Onyshchenko from Ukraine were successful in the "New Generation" category - both numbers received the silver junior award. In changing formations of one boy and two girls, the trio Balkanski presents no less than the entire typical trick repertoire of a roller-skating act – but no more either. Dmitro Onyshchenko, still looking very childish, juggles up to seven balls while doing the splits on the straps.
What do we always enjoy seeing?
Since they met at the circus school in Montreal in 2011 and created their performance together and thus the genre of the Cyr Wheel duo, they have already won prizes at various festivals: Lea Toran Jenner (German-Spanish) and Francis Perreault (Canadian) together form the duo Unity. Their play of approach and distance, of romance and dynamism, has certainly influenced various acts in recent years and is a perfect example of how a modern performance can "work" in a traditional circus setting.
Another act that will be remembered is the combination of hula hoop and the sway pole, which the now 60-year-old Frenchman Julot Cousins presents with youthful charm. With likeable nonchalance and acting talent, he leads the audience through a short story that takes him to the nine-meter-high pole and lets him circle hula hoops until he has solid ground under his feet again.
The juggler Zdenek Polach is much younger, but is known from various festival participations (gold at the EYC Wiesbaden 2018). He juggles up to seven large balls with virtuosity, in Monte Carlo with new music and a new costume. He was previously seen in the Flic Flac Show in Nuremberg, where he is also technical director and runs the event together with his wife Larissa Kastein.
And what about the animals?
Monte Carlo has always been known for exceptional animal performances - in fact, it is now a refuge for such performances, which are becoming increasingly difficult to find. This time, big cats were searched for in vain, and Princess Stephanie's favorite animal, the elephant, was only seen as a single animal and part of the large exotic tableau of the Martini family from the Italian Circo Madagascar. The latter also offered even rarer animals such as a giraffe and two kangaroos. The act is particularly impressive due to the large presentation with exotic dance interludes in opulent costumes. The dressage performance would probably not have been Monte Carlo-worthy in earlier days.
The opposite picture - simple presentation, nothing exotic, but interesting dressage elements - was offered by the fast-paced dog performance by Wolfgang Lauenburger. He received bronze for this, and the Martini family received silver for their overall performance in bringing together a wealth of animals in the ring that is unique nowadays.
In addition to those mentioned in the article, the following performances were also part of the festival:
Troupe Baobab - hand-vaulting, Alexander Lichner - trapeze, Tulga - strength acrobatics, Steven & Emi Carroli - monocycle acrobatics
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