Artist statement
The Company of Circus “eia” was born in 2009 from the fusion of two groups: Armando Rabanera, Fabrizio Giannini, Cristiano Della Monica (Cirque Vague, Circo de la Sombra and Le Grand Osim Orchestra), Francesca Lissia, and Celso Pereira (Celso and Frana). The suggestive name of “eia”: means “if” in Sardinia.
In its 13 years of activity, the Company of Circus “eia” has managed to position it self as one of the reference companies in the panorama of contemporary Catalan, Spanish and European circus, consolidating its artistic discourse based on the “humancircus”, and obtaining the recognition of the sector, the critics and, above all, the public. Likewise, these years have served to gain experience and grow in the artistic sphere and in the field of cultural management.
The last three seasons are characterized by the intense work of the international tours of the shows Nuye in Tarsi and Espera, obtaining important recognitions. In Tarsi is won the MAX 2017 award for Best New Show, thus becoming the first Contemporary Circus show to obtain this award. Espera wins the 2018 Critics Award for Best Street Show and 2021 Best show at the Festival TAC, International Street Festival o Valladolid.
Also in 2018, the Company of Circus “eia” brings to life a new project named La Pranza!, the result of the meeting of all the members of the company plus other guest artists. This project materializes in a circus-gastronomic experience that unites thearts of the circus, music and live cooking, offering a site-specific participatory production and thus giving space to the exploration of new creative formats.
Looking ahead to 2022-2023, a new stage of creation opens that will give life to the show “The Wooden Stone”, a new creation by the company led by Celso Pereira and Francesca Lissia with the artistic collaboration of José Luis Redondo and which is scheduled to be presented at the Bisbal Circ Fair 2023.
The work of the Company of Circus “eia” revolves around three main axes:
The focus of the Company of Circus “eia” is the creation of contemporary circus shows.
One of the objectives is to open doors and provide new tools of understanding the genre for new audiences, releasing it from any old fashioned clichés.
In this sense, the will is to highlight the potential of the contemporary circus as a close artistic language capable of reaching the spectator’s emotions. The artistic discourse of the productions puts at the centre the human aspect of the circus arts andthe close contact with the spectator, as well as innovation, honesty, risk and creativity.
Regarding the methodology, the creation prevails jointly between the entire artistic team (artistic direction, cast, musical direction, set design, external views, etc.). Collective authorship is key in the creations of the Company of Circus “eia”.Public participation has become one of the central axes both in the creative processes and in the staging of creations.For the Company of Circus “eia”, the circus is understood as the art of challenges and the investigation of new possibilities; a complete and multifaceted art where all forms of expression are welcome and explored.
After more than ten years of intense artistic and human experience, the initial motivation remains intact, as well as the desireto reach an ever-larger audience: an audience that has proven to be sensitive to an artistic discourse based on honesty and the human aspect of the circus arts.
Highlight the variety of experiences that have built the artistic and personal career of each member of the company and thus create a personal and collective show at the same time.
At a time when being different is often an inconvenience, we invite our peculiarities and idiosyncrasies into our shows and thus enrich the collective work, giving it the colour and diversity that the world deserves.
In its creations, the Company seeks to reach the sensitivity of the spectators and, for this reason, it has been essential to include, in the creative processes, moments of meeting with groups, either in the form of workshops or in the form of specific creations where the participants develop, along with the artists, some themes of creation.
The creative focus for the present and near future will focus on artistic research and participatory creation around the social value of live performing arts and especially the circus as a meeting place.
In our society we are losing the habit of attending rituals that generate a sense of community. These acts, before, were delegated to popular religions and traditions. However, the strong intercultural component of our society presents us with the challenge of generating new meeting places and new rituals; a challenge to which art and performing arts in particular, can provide an inclusive response free of moral judgments.
We propose to highlight the ability of the circus to create this meeting place.