The Valencian fallas, the Basque aurresku, the capgrossos and other components of Iberian folklore will come together with circus techniques to give life to Glatir, the show presented by l'Ateneu Popular 9 Barris in the new season of the Circ d'Hivern. On this occasion, five artists from different disciplines will take the stage to present a production that seeks to reflect on the place of traditions in today's society, in an unprecedented proposal that uses elements of theater and dance to expand the limits of the circus. The 28th version of this Christmas circus panorama will take place between December 16 and January 21.
Glatir presents the idea of traditions as a meeting place that creates community. From that starting point, the show, which is directed by the actress and stage creator Magda Puig and the circus artist Oriol Escursell, seeks to rethink traditions and think about the role they have in today's society, introducing questions such as "Towards "Where does a society go that breaks away from its past? What do we venerate now? What would happen if we elevated certain everyday actions to sacredness?"
The work asks "what is worth preserving in traditions", comments Escursell. "We see how these could be transferred to the circus", adds one of the directors who has taken the book The Legacies. A contemporary reading of tradition (Arcàdia, 2021), by the writer Lluís Calvo, as inspiration for the montage.
The staging will be carried out by five artists. The trapeze artist Amaya Goñi, the Chinese perch specialist Silvia Capell, the verticalist Juan Carlos Panduro, the trapeze specialist Washington Mateo Castelblanco and the Valencian artist Alicia Sáez with the acrodanza (acrobatic dance), will give life to the six weeks of programming that will have the circus.
The artists went through a selection process where each one showed the skills that led them to be part of the final cast. After weeks of rehearsal, they have managed to form a community among the performers, which will lead them to premiere this work on December 16. “There has been great work on the part of the management to get things out of each one,” says Juan Carlos Panduro.
In addition, the winter circus will have performances exclusively for schools that have circus electives in their curricula. “More than 2,000 school students will be able to experience the show with a pedagogical dossier to accompany the process,” says Javi Casado, technician in the circus creation area of L'Ateneu Popular. Also, Glatir seeks to contribute to accessibility in the performing arts with "audio description for people with blindness and a show without texts," adds Casado.
