Circa
Carnival of the Animals Sunday, January 28, 2018 3PM • Jackson Hall SPONSORED BY
About Carnival of the Animals From Brisbane, Australia, comes a bold new vision of contemporary circus. Created by Yaron Lifschitz with the Circa Ensemble, Carnival of the Animals is inspired by composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ suite of the same name. A delightful frolic through the animal kingdom, the Circa acrobats—with a little help from whimsical projections—portray a wide array of creatures—elephants, kangaroos, swans and other creatures—while showing off their incredible circus skills. Beginning with a bare stage, Circa’s performers emerge and transform the space into a circus tent. Next, they take the audience on a magical safari to meet creatures from land, sea and sky—like the tortoise, the elephant, the kangaroo, the swan and the beautiful creatures that live under the sea. Colorful large-screen animations provide settings which complement the circus portrayals of various animals. The acrobats constantly somersault, cartwheel, tumble, juggle and dance, as well as occasionally sing and play instruments.
About Circa
LEARN MORE: Circa website Circa Carnival of the Animals video
Since 2004, Circa has been at the frontier of new circus—creating powerful works of circus art that challenge, thrill and delight by pushing the boundary of the circus art form and blurring the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus. Featuring an ensemble of multi-skilled circus artists under the direction of Yaron Lifschitz, Circa’s award-winning works have been seen in 33 countries across six continents. Circa also runs a training center in Brisbane, Australia, and conducts workshops for children, young people and adults. Full list of bios of the acrobats in the ensemble. (https://circa.org.au/about-circa/people/)
“The detail in the costumes and their purpose is just one element in Carnival of the Animals that aims to engage and delight all our audience members. When you combine all this with the acrobatics, music, animation, set design and lighting, they all weave together to make a highly visual, engaging and sophisticated circus show.” —Libby McDonnell, Circa’s costume designer
A special thanks to Mondavi Center Arts Education for helping us welcome our youngest audience members.
The Carnival of the Animals Camille Saint-Saëns composed The Carnival of the Animals in 1886. It is a suite of 14 movements originally composed for a chamber group of 11 instruments: flute/piccolo, clarinet, two pianos, glass harmonica, xylophone, two violins, viola, cello and double bass. However today it is often performed by a full orchestra of strings and a glockenspiel (in place of the glass harmonica). The Carnival of the Animals is considered to be one of Saint-Saëns’ most popular works. Most of the 14 movements are dedicated to a specific animal. Because Saint-Saëns was afraid that people wouldn’t consider him a serious composer if they heard The Carnival of the Animals, he stipulated in his will that it not be published until after his death. He did, however, allow the 13th movement (“The Swan”) to be published during his lifetime.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY THESE ANIMALS IN CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS: hen, rooster, lion, donkey, turtle, elephant, kangaroo, fish, bird, swan
• • • •
Where does your animal live? What does it eat? What color and shape is it? How does it protect itself?
Acrobatics The word acrobatics comes from the ancient Greek words akros meaning “highest” or “outermost” and bat meaning “walking,” so the earliest form of acrobatics referred to “high walking.” Acrobatics has long referred to any bodily movement that requires a person to propel him or herself through the air, exhibiting in the process speed, grace, balance, physical agility and motor coordination. Acrobatic arts have been around for thousands of years, both as a performing art and a competitive sport. Art and murals from as early as 2000 B.C. depicting acrobats and acrobatic feats have been found on the island of Crete, Greece.
A female acrobat depicted on an ancient Greek hydria, c. 340-330 B.C.
THINK ABOUT IT: ❶ What do you think of when you hear the word “circus”?
❷ What animals did you see in the
performance? What were your favorite animals and why?
Carnival of the Animals downloadable coloring book
❸ What did the music add to the
Get to Know The Composer
performance?
➍ Were there any additional aspects of the show that stood out to you (e.g. stage, lighting, costumes, music)?
http://musicmattersblog.com/wp-files/Carnival_of_the_Animals_coloring_book.pdf
http://www.classicsforkids.com/composers/composer_profile.php?id=61
Sea World/Busch Gardens Animal Sounds Library http://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-sounds/