We’re celebrating 25 years of Cirque Bijou. For our final month, we’re looking back on our show Balance of the Cosmos.
The Balance of the Cosmos
In January 2020 a team of artists, stage managers and riggers flew out to Taiwan. There, they put on two weeks of performances as part of the Taiwan National Lantern Festival in Taichung. They returned back to the UK in March – just before Covid locked down the world.
During 2019, Billy Alwen (our Artistic Director) worked with the production team, local artists and choreographers in Taiwan. Together they created a new narrative. Balance of the Cosmos become the central show for the national lantern festival.
The Show
It was important that the heart of the show was based on Taiwanese culture and art. Billy worked with a local indigenous singer, community groups, local dancers and a celebrated Taiwanese choreographer to ensure this. He then invited celebrated international wire walker Jade Kindar Martin, former Cirque Soleil acrobat Karine Mauffrey and UK artists Chris Bullzini and Abby Evans to join them.
The show was held in the City of Taichung and was seen by over 160,000 audience members across 16 shows. It featured over 80 local artists and members of the local communities and was a true multi-cultural collaboration, celebrating artistry from the UK, France, USA and Taiwan.
It told a simple story of the need to balance our desire to live interesting and exciting lives with our respect for the environment.
Want to learn more about our time in Taiwan? Read Billy’s blog on the experience.
Photo Credit: Lin Chunyung