Backbone deals with the different facets of strength. Physical vigor is displayed in various acrobatic acts that push the limits of the body. Dramatic lighting frames the acrobatic sequences, in which everything seems to be hanging by a thread. Risk is inherent to circus arts and palpable throughout the performance, like when an artist executes a flip to reach the top of a human pyramid that is nearly four meters tall.

The live music, composed specially for the show, has an electronic beat and punctuates every movement with precision. “The music activates our inner rhythm, so we can work in harmony with it or even against it”, says Lachlan Bonns, director and performer in the company that was founded in 2009 and has won five international awards, including one at the Adelaide Fringe Festival for A Simple Space. Backbone received the Australian Dance Award.

The word Backbone refers to the vertebral column, a structure that is at once firm enough to support the human body and malleable enough to allow all types of movement. The contrast between malleability and rigidity appears at various moments, such as the many scenes in which the performers load or suspend stones, referencing the weight and solidity of these objects.

Direction: Darcy Grant
Cast: Martin Schreiber, Lachlan Binns, Jascha Boyce, Jacob Randell, Lewie West, Lewis Rankin, Joanne Curry, Mieke Lizotte, Lachlan Harper and Jackson Manson
Production in Brazil: Mark Bromilow

South America Première