The Juice ‘Contemporary Media E-Zine’

Charles Paxton December 15th, 2007

Electro dance band and circus acts - Circosis provide a feast for the senses

The fantastic new Cumbrian dance band Digitalis have teamed up with Appleby’s Euphoric Circus troop to produce what has to be the most electrifying live entertainment combo event we’ve ever seen. Dubbed Circosis, this is a brand new hybrid entertainment concept marrying the live dance music of Digitalis with the circus skills of Euphoric circus. And it’s a marriage made in heaven, folks. Olly and Chris “People juggling” as Gema sings

      Toni on trapeze

Digitalis provide the powerfully atmospheric musical element

For one thing, this is the kind of music that the circus folk love to perform to, and for another, the dance band Digitalis like to conjour the maximum atmospheric impact in their gigs. There’s probably no better way to do that than to have glow-in-the-dark psychedlic punk acrobats performing death-defying acrobatics to your music - and don’t forget the graceful trapeze artist. All told, it’s a pretty heady experience!

Ryan and Olly are Lords of the rings

There’s a lot of skill and concentration involved in speed juggling! Practice helps too, lots, to help develop dexterity and muscle memories. When it comes to people juggling, you need considerable physical strength too. However, all you wannabe circus performers should note that it’s no longer necessary to run away from home to join the circus. If you’re within driving distance from Appleby in Westmorland and you have the dedication and determination to keep at it, then you too could practice with this amazing training troop. See their Entertrain website for more info.

 Ben Parkinson (aka Smokey P) seen here enjoying the company of a young fan between bouts on the drums.

I’d seen both Euphoric Circus and Digitalis performing separately on different occasions (The Nine Standards and Appleby’s amazing Halloween festival respectively) and was highly impressed by both acts. In unison though, they are an awesome combination and we can’t think of a better way to have fun than to dance the night away in their company.

How did a circus come to be based in the small market town of Appleby, you may wonder. Well, it’s mainly thanks to a nice hook-up between Centre 67 youth centre and Toni Spence, creative director, head of aerial skills and health and safety at Euphoric Circus. She has been a circus performer since she was 17. She’s toured with big circuses throughout Britain and mainland Europe and is the founder of Appleby’s Euphoric Circus, a movement that is as much about public education in circus skills as it is about entertaining the public.As I interview Toni an hour before the show, her eyes are gleaming with anticipation. She explains “I’m very excited about the show this evening because it’s a pilot program with Digitalis.” If it goes well, they might do some touring together.There are five core members of the circus: Toni, Chris, Mark, Ryan and Olly. “We really do most of our work on training the younger kids, but public performance is an important outlet for the workers. Working with Digitalis in the Circosis project is very inspiring. They have a really nice sound and that is exactly the kind of sound we love to work with,” Toni tells us. Check out the video of Olly performing the Spanish Web act to the Digitalis song Vocate the premises and you’ll see how well they go together.Olly performing The Spanish Web to Digitalis’s song Vocate the Premises.  Toni describes their show as “a mix of juggling, people juggling, silks, acrobatics, trapeze skills and the Spanish Web.” Accompanied by the digitalis music and with judicious use of black light, the impact is impressive. “We practice every day,” Toni tells us. Amazingly, she continued to practice through pregnancy. That’s some dedication!Toni has trained some of the acrobats and they in turn have gone on to train others in an outreach program that brings the glamour of circus skill development to schools and youth groups in the region. To give some idea of how good her proteges are becoming, Chris Hodder was ranked in the top 100 out of the 54,000 who entered the Britain’s Got Talent TV contest and he hasn’t stopped improving.Chris has wanted to be a circus performer since he was five and a half. He joined the troop at age 15 and hasn’t looked back; he’s now Head Coordinator, and as we whitnessed this evening, he’s very versatile and particularly adept at people juggling. Combining considerable strength with dexterity and skill, he wowed us all with his acrobatics and juggling, his fancy dance moves and flashing hair and trousers. The show opened with ‘Play’With Euphoric circus students ranging in age from 5 to 75, Toni says that anyone can be a circus performer if they put in the time and effort that the training requires, though “you have to be very able bodied for the high level stuff.”I then snatched a short interview with Gemma Web, Digitalis’ principal singer and high priestess of dance. She laughs when I call her that and says, “Ah, you’re refering to the Digitalis dance?” and gives us a few of the characteristic moves along with a coy smile, “in fact, I’m responding to what’s happening in the audience, to the feedback from the crowd. I see someone like Zoe dancing and that sets me off!”Well, it’s certainly an excellent positive feedback loop. I first saw them perform at The Nine Standards and was very impressed - the acid test of a dance band is how swiftly they can generate a sustained general audience dance reaction and Digitalis seem to consistently achieve this quickly.Gemma’s enthusiasm about tonight’s experiment echoes Toni’s, “Circosis is really exciting,” she explains, “I like the diversification, the circus acts are another element and they work perfectly, I enjoy the integration.” Tonight’s show is also symbolic of much of what the Centre 67 youth centre was established to do, to focus and foster local youth talent. “We want to pull off a good bash for Sue Bennet.”Gemma goes on to explain the potential for touring, perhaps starting with Kendal Calling and Solfest. Solfest had a Circus Big Top and Circosis would suit it highly. “I love bringing something exciting to Cumbria. It’s loads of fun doing that, and being local. This project is linking up creative people and producing something fresh.”Of their set this evening she particularly likes Vocate The Premises, it’s a good example of Digitalis’ music “that’s different, jumpy, daring and edgey, it sometimes floats, it comes and goes, you know?” Having seen it now, I must agree that it is and does all that, it generates awesome atmosphere and works very well with the Spanish Web act.I ask whether they’re contemplating producing a CD yet and she laughs, “Oh yes, we’re thinking about a release. The problem is too many tracks, and how best to divide them.” Well, a band could face worse problems than that. These are early days for Digitalis (formed in February 07) and the portents look promising. Is the production process that fast? I wonder out loud. “No, that can be a long process. Rob tends to write the notes and then we get together and key in the others, that’s what takes time.” Well, it’s a complex process of course and it’s time and effort well spent, that’s for sure. Now my belly growls indicate that it’s time for us to explore the bar and cafe menu. Mmhmm!PhasingHZ laid on an excellent bar and Centre 67’s chefs cooked up a fine menu for the guests.Savoury aromas from the kitchen have gathered a crowd. We order one of everything from the smartly attired chefs and while we tuck in, we see Zoe applying some hair and make-up magic to Olly. She’s good! His face soon sports the sort of vivid pattern of multiple pairs of eyes that could keep a Carib cannibal tribe from eating a pirate captain. Impressive enough under the regular lighting, Olly looks slinky, spikey and demonic under the black light’s freaky ‘fluence.

Circosis is a brand new and evolving live entertainment project, so we can expect to see differences from show to show, but the Juice says that their debut was fantastic fun and a fabulous tribute to the late Sue Bennett, the visionary who wanted to bring together all the creativity that has made this Centre 67 event such a resounding success.Next time you see or hear of a Circosis event, clear your diary, call to invite your friends, book the tickets, dress up prettily for the black lighting and prepare for an evening of integrated live dance and circus tricks that you’ll never forget! This is the last article of 2007 folks. We’re on holiday now. We’d like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and Happy new year!
 

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