Just about a year or two ago my husband presented me with a Christmas gift that forever left me with a profound love for the circus arts today. He got me tickets to see Kurios by Cirque du Soleil.
Never having seen a circus show before, when he showed me the tickets I was jumping for joy. A month later we were in the seats in a large tent that had beautiful decorations everywhere. After getting comfortable in our chairs and ample time had been given for me to absorb almost everything I could possibly see, the show began and my admiration toward the circus artists began. Throughout the hour or two various artists performed their shows and stunts. Some flipped and jumped in the air, some bent their bodies in ways unimaginable and some shared skills that I never expected to see that night. The show was dazzling, and I fondly remember feeling like life was full of wonder, and after the show concluded there was this beaming light that was inside of me, leaving me with the feeling that there are so many wonderful things to pursue in life. As a parkour practitioner myself I have always loved and appreciated what movement does for not only your body but your soul. After Kurios I now also believe in what the movement arts does for not only the practitioner but the viewers because of my experience that January night.
What I find so beautiful about the art of movement is how it impacts and inspires those who get to experience witnessing it. I could not deny how I felt after the show, that sense of wonder and excitement that filled me. That strong desire to live and dare to dream more. I wanted to create through photography how watching Kurios made me feel and how it personally impacted me. The circus arts is something mysterious and engaging, incredible and also scary. It's an invitation to live an authentic life that will no doubt stand out, but it will stand out as a light.
Thank you to the talented contortionist Marcela Bercovici for sharing her talent, as well as our little child Maddie. It was so neat seeing the two of them bond and become friends throughout the shoot.
M Kat