Circolombia's latest piece Acelere starts with one spectacular jump and ends with another. Between these two breath-taking moments this 12-strong ensemble delivers a show that is by turns gravity defying and down-to-earth.
The troupe is made up of graduates of Colombia’s first professional circus school set up by Brit Felicity Simpson and dedicated to supporting children at risk. This makes for a great story, but a production has to stand or fall on the skills of its performers.
As it happens there were some falls last night. Yet these revealed the vulnerability of young people pushing themselves to acrobatic limits and actually won over the crowd. This was much more charming than the clinical perfection of Cirque du Soleil. It also added a sense of drama as they had a second crack at something they had just failed at. The highlight of the evening, however, did come close to perfection, as aerialists Oscar Rojas and Soledad Gómez coiled themselves around a rope and each other, a sexy tangle of muscular limbs. At times it was difficult to see where one body ended and the other began.
Elsewhere the team swung on swings, bounced off each other’s shoulders and flew through the air, backed by a mixture of traditional and modern music with live vocals. If this had been an Olympic event the judges might have marked it down, but for sheer exuberance it was hard to fault. When the grinning cast is clearly having fun it is impossible for the audience not to smile.
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Last night’s show was preceded by a brief dance-based set entitled What We Do Is What We Love, featuring the Roundhouse’s own street circus collective. While it lacked the heart-in-mouth gymnastics of Circolombia, it gave the visiting company a run for its money in the enthusiasm stakes.
Until May 3 (0300 6789 222, roundhouse.org.uk)
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