UK

SIGMA

A dialogue with the viewer, trascending cultural barriers and stimulating imaginations

2017: Total theatre Award (Physical theatre) Edinburgh
2017: Asian Arts Award (Beste Regie) Edinburgh

EXQUISITELY BEAUTIFUL
★★★★★ The Herald Scotland

A CHAOS OF A SUBTLE AND SOPHISTICATED KIND
★★★★ The List

CLEVER AND EXPERIMENTAL
★★★★ The Stagegewagt

Gandini Juggling. Not just leaders in their field but trail blazers who have reinvented the relationship between contemporary theatre, dance and Circus”Lyn Gardner
Seeta Patel – A marvel of stamina, grace and sensitivity”British Theatre Guide

Gandini Juggling have a reputation for innovation – pushing the boundaries of their art form by combining contemporary circus with dance and narrative. The resulting productions have challenged perceptions of what juggling is and can be and have forced the limits of the genre in a unique direction.

Sigma is an opportunity to further explore these dialogues and showcase the complicity between bharatanatyam dance, juggling and percussion. Developed in partnership with Seeta Patel, a specialist in bharatanatyam aesthetics, and Kati Ylä-Hokkala and Kim Huynh – pioneering jugglers from Gandini Juggling – the work investigates classical Indian geometries, mathematics, and rhythm by looking at similarities and differences, processes and choreographic architectures. There is also a focus on the parabolic accelerating velocity of objects in the air versus the more subtly changing speeds of the dancer and the underlying Carnatic musical structures.

The human side of the collaboration transcends the pure structure and looks at invented ethnologies and imaginary rituals, when both bharatanatyam and juggling come with a myriad of associated archetypes. Gandini are keen to play with these ideas – to distort them and intermingle them, and to inhabit the hybrid landscapes which they create.

Formed in 1992 by world-renowned jugglers Sean Gandini and Kati Ylä-Hokkala, Gandini Juggling continues to be at the vanguard of contemporary circus, reinventing and reinvigorating juggling for the 21st Century. Gandini Juggling celebrates juggling in all its facets, exploring not just what juggling is, but what juggling can be. Currently an ever-evolving ensemble made up of a virtuosic core group of jugglers, they regularly expand to include up to twenty performers for specially commissioned events and performances. Gandini Juggling is based in London and for its performances invites talented jugglers from all over the world. In addition to performing, Gandini Juggling are very much in demand at leading circus schools, where they teach workshops, create performances, and support the next generation of circus artists. Alongside all this, the company publish their own books and DVDs, continuing to support the wider understanding of the beautiful possibilities of juggling, for jugglers and non-jugglers alike.