Renowned Seattle Circus Troupe Comes to FringeArts

Philadelphia is fast becoming a hub for contemporary circus, home to Circadium School, Almanac Dance Circus Theatre and several other cutting-edge acrobatic troupes, and regularly attracting visiting circus arts troupes. FringeArts will present its second annual Hand to Hand circus festival next summer. Next weekend, the theater holds the contemporary circus imaginings of Seattle-based Acrobatic Conundrum with The Fig Tree Waltzes.

Weaving together acrobatics, dance, Cyr wheel, storytelling, juggling, and aerial feats, the evening-length performance follows a group of performers whose virtuosio athletic feats are offset with the fragility of humanity, and the inevitable risks of passion and love.

The Seattle Times described it as  “a feast of acrobatics, juggling, mime, contortionism and dance.” According to the company’s hometown paper, their work “explores the pitfalls of romance while expertly defying gravity.”

Acrobatic Conundrum - Xochitl Sosa and Terry Crane (1)Founder and artistic director of Acrobatic Conundrum describes the work as  “poetic, a little absurd, and deeply relatable.” Acrobatic Conundrum has appeared nationally and internationally at such venues as New York City’s SummerStage, the Chicago Contemporary Circus Festival, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Vancouver CircusFest, TEDxRainier, and The Backstreet Festival in Alexandria, Egypt. They visit FringeArts for three performances on October 20 and 21. Tickets are $20-$35.

The Fig Tree Waltzes features choreography from Costa Rican choreographer Jimmy Ortiz Chinchilla. founder of the renowned El Barco Dance Conservatory and a professor of dance at Universidad de Costa Rica, Jimmy’s playful and surprisingly athletic dance style is considered one of the major influences in Central American modern dance.

[Acrobatic Conundrum at FringeArts 140 N Columbus Boulevard] October 20 (8pm) & 21 (1pm & 5pm), 2018; acrobaticconundrum.com

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