Ahead of their Circus City performance at 1532 Performing Arts Centre on 24th & 25th October, Maïa Bouteillet speaks to co-director and performer Sean Gandini about the inspiration behind Heka.
What is at the heart of this new creation?
SEAN GANDINI: Magic. When I was a child, I loved it and wanted to be a magician. What I enjoyed was the practice, repeating the gestures. But in magic tricks, that aspect is hidden, which frustrated me a lot.
How did magic enter your world?
S.G.: The first part is inspired by the universe of Yann Frisch; it’s as if there were six Yanns on stage simultaneously. What’s interesting about Yann is that he had the opposite journey to mine, he transitioned from juggling and clowning to magic. We were inspired by one of his early table acts, Baltass, with which he toured internationally and won awards. He passed on his technique to us, which is actually quite similar to juggling. Our idea was to appropriate the gestures from that routine, but not as magic. The other parts are drawn from the experimental ideas of Finnish artist Kalle Nio. His magic is closer to visual arts and performance. Once again, what interests us is the gesture. Even the most natural magic is highly stylized.
In that sense, magic is quite choreographic?
S.G.: Yes, but in classical magic, the choreography is sometimes limited and even sexist. It’s a world almost entirely dominated by men, with a bizarre obsession with piercing women or cutting them into pieces. A very strange fixation! In Heka, there are mostly women on stage, and we mock this conventional side of magic. Heka is the Egyptian goddess of magic. The earliest depictions of juggling come from an Egyptian tomb showing three women in profile with balls. Magic, which spans all eras and exists almost everywhere, is still not considered a noble art…
There’s a phrase that goes, “A magician is an actor playing the role of a magician.” Robert-Houdin, the father of modern magic, added, “He’s not a juggler.” From the start, magic involves deception. Juggling, on the other hand, is the dance of objects in space. We’ve integrated the fall into it, whereas in magic, there’s no room for error.
You can find out more about Gandini’s work at the Circus City Gandini workshop – Join Directors Sean Gandini and Kati Ylä- Hokkala on Sat 25 Oct, 10am–12pm at Trinity Centre for a masterclass in the juggling techniques and process of this world-leading company. This workshop is designed to be open to both beginners and professionals. Places are limited and will be on sale to ticket holders first – so grab your tickets to Heka below!
Image credit: Camilla Greenwell