Gravity & Other Myths performs glorious circus-dance spectacle The Mirror, January 24 to 27

Co-presentation of Australian company by The Cultch and DanceHouse pairs skill with gravity-defying acrobatics

SPONSORED POST BY DanceHouse and The Cultch

The Mirror. Photo by Andy Phillipson

Critically acclaimed contemporary circus company Gravity & Other Myths is bringing The Mirror—their most physically and conceptually ambitious performance ever—to the Vancouver Playhouse from January 24 to 27.

Combining soaring acrobatics, dance, and cheeky humour, this North American premiere co-presented by DanceHouse and The Cultch is sure to delight and astonish.

Vancouver audiences will remember Gravity & Other Myths from the company’s popular works Backbone and A Simple Space. The award-winning Australian contemporary circus company was formed in 2009 when a group of Adelaide artists decided to combine their passion for circus and physical theatre to create works that celebrate human connection and acrobatic virtuosity.

The Mirror. Photo by Andy Phillipson

With 13 seasons and six critically acclaimed works behind them, Gravity & Other Myths more than lives up to its name. The acrobats of The Mirror upend the laws of physics in order to generate a new kind of dance, infused with elements of circus, cabaret, and a light spanking of kink.

Director Darcy Grant worked with the original cast to develop a new show that boldly confronts the big questions: What do modern humans find entertaining? What do we want to show the world, and is it something that others want to see? What does authenticity mean, especially in the age of ubiquitous screens and permanent self-presentation? The company describes their work as “both a nod to the extremes that people will go to [to] please others and a reflection on the hidden parts of ourselves that make us unique”.

The result is an innovative 75 minute-long multimedia work of art, featuring fluorescent tubes, an LED wall, cameras, selfie sticks, and live video projections. A radio boombox plays an electronic score backed by live sultry vocals of hit song mash-ups by composer Ekrem Eli Phoenix (performed by Megan Drury in Vancouver).

The Mirror. Photo by Andy Phillipson

Ten acrobats perform astounding feats, lifting and throwing one another, flipping and twisting through the air. In one nearly superhuman feat, a single person carries three others on their shoulders. The artists break the fourth wall to show the rigours of performance alongside their movements. The audible grunts, shouts, and onstage banter loop the audience in for a humourous peek behind the scenes.

Black curtains open and close throughout the work, both revealing and concealing in a series of vignettes. Moving shadows, cast by the colourful lighting effects, hint at what is hidden, but also conjure illusions.

Highly expressive and playful, The Mirror scales the heights of elegance before descending into extraordinary contortions and colourful undergarments. The feats of strength and balance performed by these exposed bodies, covered in sweat and full of power, are staggering. Pushing the human form to its limits, The Mirror transports audiences beyond raw spectacle to the stuff of awe.

The Mirror had its 2022 world premiere in Germany, and its Australian premiere at the Sydney Opera House in early 2023. Originally only three nights were announced for the Vancouver leg of the tour—however, a fourth night was added in November due to popular demand.

Tickets start at $35, and are available via DanceHouse.

Post sponsored by DanceHouse and The Cultch.