By Wasfia Nazreen
Dharamsala, March 19 – A circus group called Rikochet is currently touring India, and earlier this morning they performed at TCV, lower Dharamsala. Their show is called ‘Escape Artist’ and is mainly aimed at children.
Escape Artist is a collaboration of humans and objects, words and movement, air and ground. Exploring the multiple uses of rope, Escape Artist seamlessly fuses aerial acrobatics, poetry, stilts, fire, and film. Escape Artist is a venture into the heart of humanism by means of abstract metaphor, lyric physicality, entanglement, connection, and hilarity; all set to a soul-satiating soundtrack ranging from classical to electronic.
Years in the making, the first version of Escape Artist was presented in the spring of 2005 at the Penasco Theatre in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Since its birth, Escape Artist has traveled from New Mexico to San Francisco, to India, and continues to change and evolve with the ever-changing world and influences around it.
The Players of Escape Artist are a small collective, coming from backgrounds of street theatre, circus, dance, martial arts, and the love of emotionally potent abstract imagery. They are committed to the evolution of avant-guard circus and performance that pushes the boundaries of human possibility and combines elements of often unlikely combinations.
Tenzin Choephel, Headmaster of the Infant Section and Chairman of the Cultural Committee, TCV welcomed them warmly as they voluntarily agreed to perform for the children of the school. The American Consulate General of India and American Embassy School, based in Delhi and Mumbai, sponsor their travel. Between Calcutta and Chennai, Rikochet received an overwhelming crowd of seventeen thousand kids from a total of seven shows.
Earlier this week, Rikochet also performed at TIPA, at a fundraising sponsored by Regional Tibetan Women’s Association. An evening of music and performance was organized by RTWA to campaign for Tibetan prisoners and for social work (mostly towards raising awareness of HIV amongst young people) within Dharamsala. Rikochet graced the occasion along with other local artists.
Rikochet is based out of New Mexico and the performers of today’s show were Alessandra Ogren, Cohdi Harrell, Laura Stokes, and Robin Brice. They are also associated with Wise Fool; for more information please check out their website.
