Motus O, a performance troupe coming to Golden next week, is considered family entertainment, but to them there is a fuzzy line between adult and children entertainment.
“When we started, people kept asking us if we were adult or children performers,” said James Croker, Artistic Director and one of the founding Members of Motus O, which translates from Latin to operation of movement. “ We really don’t see the difference. Our motto has always been that we do productions for the children in adults and the adults in children.”
The troupe — whose founding members originally met in Montreal as an American gymnast, a Canadian figure skater and Australian street performer — believe that there is no subject matter that you cannot express to children.
‘We are big fans of Roald Dahl,” said Croker, explaining that Dahl always said that “no story is worth its salt unless it scares you.”
In a more succinct description, the company “creates works of physical inventiveness and beauty that portray the phenomenon of human experience with wit, wonder and revelation”—something that every age can relate to.
Motus O is coming to Golden on April 6, 7, 8 for school and community workshops and a final performance of the show Circus Terrifico on the evening of Friday, April 8th.
Here’s the gist of their show:
The audience first meets the three circus performers in Circus Terrifico boarding the train to their next show. But, a case of vanishing tickets thwarts their plans and strands them on the platform, forcing them to create an impromptu show to raise money for new tickets. By watching the antics of these three enigmatic clowns, the Train Conductor is drawn into their mayhem and magic and finally agrees to be their new Ring Master.
The second part of the show is micro-version interpretations of their favourite ballets: Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker.
“The idea for the show came largely from a man named Alexander Calder,” explained Croker. Calder is well-known for popularizing children’s mobiles. What he was not as famous for was his fascination with the circus.
“He had these wire figurines he kept in a suitcase that he would pull out at cafes and bars for impromptu circus performances”.
Motus O’s primary art form is movement, and that is exactly what they’ll be teaching at the community and school workshops prior to the show on Friday.
The four Motus O dancers will be joined in Golden by Kat Single-Dain of Dusty Flower Pot Cabaret. Dusty Flower Pot’s production of “Hard Times Hit Parade” is currently running in Vancouver and will be a part of KHC’s 2011/2012 season at the re-birthed Civic Centre.
The five artists will be working with a select group of LGES and NES students in the afternoons, GSS students after school and with community members in the evenings of Wednesday April 6 and Thursday, April 7.
All three groups will practice with the dancers to create a “piece” that will be presented as the opening act of Friday night’s performance.
The two 90 minute community workshops bring together non-professional movers to explore the processes of dance and movement. The workshops will build towards a community performance as part of the opening act of Motus O’s performance on Friday.
The community workshops are free, but space is limited.
To register, send an email to info@kickinghorseculture.ca describing why you would like to be a part of the workshops and the Friday night performance. KHC will try to accommodate everyone but, if there are too many people, we’ll ask the dancers to choose
