Of myths and fairy tales

Energy and whimsy characterised the dance duet without words completely enacted on stilts by Cristina and her co-star Ilija Luginbühl, who have formed the theatrical company Trickster Teatro.

The two performers twirled, danced, swayed and acted their hearts out spinning tales and weaving yarns that traversed time space and geographical boundaries.

“Our duet is specially composed to appeal people from all ages, countries and languages. All cultures have their own myths, fairy tales and legends that are dear to them and yet universal in appeal. We have travelled around the world with our dance reaching out and entertaining people through the simple truth of a fairy tale,” says Cristina  who acts in and also directs the 45-minute piece.

The sound of rolling drums and a variety of stringed instruments form the background score for the piece which sweeps the audience up in its broad range of movement and expression.

A compelling demonstration of physical theatre (a style of storytelling that uses mostly physical means such as mime, contemporary dance and theatrical acrobatics), the production kept the audience rivetted through the entire performance using their competence on stilts and their range of expressions very effectively.

Explaining the work of Trickster Teatro, which is based in Novazzano, Switzerland, Cristina said that it started off as an art research project exploring and studying different art expressions.

“Initially, Trickster Teatro  focused on the centrality and physicality of the actor but gradually moved away from the theatre concept in its narrower sense. This story is a result of detailed research on myths and fairy tales, mainly  European but also with strong elements from India, Africa and South America. In fact, during the course of our research, we discovered an amazing similarity between myths and stories in various countries,” she explained.

“We keep the costumes and props simple so that we can travel easily and not be bogged down by complicated sets,” she added. The simplicity of the whole arrangement added to but did not detract from the impact of the performance.