Systema, 1 object - 4 bodies. An emergence.
What could 4 people and one rope have to do together and what is the Systema they are trying to create on stage? Curious to find out, I attended their performance at Bijlmer Parktheater in Amsterdam during the Amsterdam Fringe Festival.
Framing Effekt, Systema © Heroen Bollaert
A corde lisse, or aerial rope, or just rope, is the object the collective Framing Effekt decided to work with, making Systema their first creation as a group. Framing Effekt is a group of 4 young circus artists, Shalom Gramiccioli (IT), Julie Micheneau (FR), Marius Cavin (CH) and Lara Schönthal (AT) from four different countries, speaking three different languages and focused on three different circus disciplines. They and I share an interesting coincidence. They all graduated from Fontys Academy of the Arts in Tilburg in 2022, where in April of that year I attended one of their graduation group performances, during my first work in contemporary circus as a journalist. A common emergence, in a way. But enough about memorabilia.