In Spanish, the verb ‘flipar’ means to be mesmerised, to end up with your mouth wide open because you’re so impressed. It is an appropriate name, then, for the unique celebration of circus, aerial, street and physical theatre that will be taking place as part of the Canberra Festival this March.
“The name is derived from the Spanish word, and also from the act of flipping – because in physical theatre there’s a lot of flipping – combined with the word ‘art,’” artistic producer Frank Madrid tells me. Frank first came up with the idea for FLIPART when brainstorming ways to drive demand for the arts in Canberra. “Canberrans really like to party and there is a tradition of Canberrans getting out and doing things like the Folk Festival or the Multicultural Festival,” Frank says. “I wanted to do something different and I thought the whole idea of circus and seeing ordinary people doing extraordinary things had to work.”
The festival is certainly going to be something special, featuring national and international acts such as Grammy-winning Latin fusion band Los Amigos Invisibles, Ethiopian acrobat trio The Zimboyz and aerial dance group Dislocate, as well as local acts such as Casual Projects, Mr Fibby and celebrated aerial choreographer Janine Ayres, who will premiere her new project, Interwoven.
Flipart will also feature the world premiere of Elevate, the new show from Australia’s pre-eminent physical theatre company, Stalker. Committed to diversity, inclusion and innovation, Stalker has been creating their unique brand of physical and visual theatre for more than 20 years, entertaining audiences across Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.
Elevate is the sequel to Stalker’s StiltBreak, which has been performed more than 80 times worldwide to great acclaim. Featuring an exhilarating combination of break dance, hip-hop and stilt acrobatics, as well as a five metre high catapult, Elevate sounds, well, dangerous! Nick from Stalker agrees, telling of countless sprained wrists and ankles when I chat to him between rehearsals. “Of course you have to be careful when there’s stilts and heights of five metres involved, because there is the potential for quite serious injury,” Nick says. “But it’s well worth the risk for the visual spectacle it creates. Elevate is set to be truly groundbreaking.”
The festival will also include roving performers Chrome and Erth, who will be moving between Civic Square and Garema Place during the festival, interacting with the crowd. Chrome’s new repertoire, entitled Pink Fit, features cabaret-style songs and theatrics focussed on the theme of love, and Erth utilises puppetry, stilt-walking, inflatables and extraordinary costumes to create a dynamic live theatre experience.
There is also a myriad of circus acts set to perform, with Highwire Circus presenting their new venture A Little Bit of Bally Hoo, featuring clowns and physical theatre, Warehouse Circus showcasing a variety of acts performed by 8-25 year olds, and Circus Monoxide offering an array of jugglers, acrobats and other hilarious circus high jinks in a fantastic show for the whole family.
It’s enough to inspire you to run away and join the circus and the best part is, you (kind of) can! Stalker and Zymboyz will be holding workshops in Civic Square, teaching willing audience members the basics of break dancing and acrobatics.
Looking at the program, I notice there is a distinctly Latin twist to many of the acts, and the Music, Art and Food event which closes the festival will specifically feature music from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico, to coincide with the bicentenary of their quest for independence. “I’m Venezuelan, so I’m hugely into Latin rhythms,” Frank says. “I come from a city that had international performers coming to town every April, and all the young people used to camp outside the ticket office to be the first ones to buy tickets. I grew up in that environment of exposure to the performing arts as part of everyday life. Now that I’ve become a Canberran, I think that the city will definitely benefit from engaging with the performing arts and develop its unique identity through that. What better way to celebrate Canberra’s birthday than with Latin music!”
Although the festival is hugely influenced by Frank’s Latin roots, he maintains that it is physicality that is the unifying theme behind all of the acts. Frank believes that physicality is “something very much linked to Australian identity. We all enjoy the outdoors, the beautiful weather, and sports – it’d be interesting to make a strong link between the arts and sports, because they both have that physical element.”
The main thing you need to know about Flipart, however, is not the amazing circus, dance and physical theatre acts that will be on show, the roving performers, the workshops or the celebration of Latin music and food. It’s the fact that it’s a test. The ACT Government has provided funding for the festival on a conditional basis to see how Canberra audiences will respond, and if Canberrans embrace the idea, the government will support future editions of Flipart. “I’ve become madly in love with the theatre that I’ve chosen, so it’s nerve-wracking, but it’s very exciting at the same time,” Frank says, as we wrap up the interview. I promise to tell all my family and friends to come along, and he returns, “we really need Canberrans’ support for the festival to survive and flourish. Tell the world!”
Flipart will be held between Friday-Sunday March 12-14 in Civic Square, Garema Place and New Acton.
