'Our act is based on our relationship'

Donovan Jones and Rebecca Peache, acrobat and aerial act artistes from London who were here in the City for a performance, share a visible chemistry.

This makes their acts a delight to watch. Metrolife caught up with this couple to find out more about their experiences.

The two are Guinness Book of World Record holders for a rather odd title — ‘the longest time to hold a person with one hand above the head in a lying position’. This record, which was for one minute and five seconds, was achieved by them in Beijing, China, in 2008. It’s quite visible during their acts that the couple share a deep relationship as a couple and as partners. Ask them if they have had a tiff just before a show and Rebecca smiles and says, “Yes! But when we move on to the show, we find that in five minutes, when we are in the air and balancing ourselves, the fight just seems ridiculous.”

This was Donovan and Rebecca’s first time at a public performance, but they have come to India for private performances earlier. Rebecca and Donovan have performed in China, Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, South America and many other countries. “We have performed on crew ships as well,” says Donovan. Ask him about this experience and he details, “It can get as hard as one can imagine. Sometimes, we’re in really rough seas and the ship bounces. In such instances, we tell the audience that we have a third partner in the act, who doesn’t listen or communicate and doesn’t know our act.”

Rebecca and Donovan, who were performers before coming together five years back, have never had any bad accidents. Their act has the influence of dance in it, which makes it sensual in its presentation. “Because we were self-taught, we didn’t approach this as acrobatics but as choreography and songs,” says Donovan.

Despite the danger in their acts, they have never cancelled a show. Donovan says, “We had a performance at Belgium on a floating platform and just before the act, one side of the stage went up at a 25 degree angle. We performed at that angle. It was fantastically challenging.” Rebecca adds, “There’s always been something or the other happening — whether technical aspects or the ship’s movement, but we’ve never cancelled.” As a true artiste, Donovan smiles and says, “The show must go on.”

The couple has travelled to many countries for performances and there have often been times when the props or costumes for a show have not come. “We’ve done performances in jeans and tees, I’ve danced with tissues while Donovan sang and changed the entire format of shows at times,” says Rebecca.

They add, “There have been times when we had the right props for the wrong venue, or no props at all. We just deal with it as a challenge, and work our way out through it.”

They have thought about including a third person in their act. Donovan and Rebecca say that the person would have to entirely forego his or her life for this. “Our act is based on our relationship and so it is very hard to bring someone into the act,” they wrap up.