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October 2020: Company Ci
Website: www.companyci.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cie_ci_co/
How would you describe Company Ci in a sentence?
Ci is what happens when two artists who have been performing circus as entertainment, give themselves a carte blanche to explore the shadow-side of our human experience.
What was your artistic path that led you to building the company?
Jeremiah Hughes and I started collaborating while performing as principal characters with Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK – The First Flight. We both have a primary formation in dance with complementary specialties in aerial work and physical theatre and wanted to create work that represented us more fully. With this intention we co-founded Ci.
What inspires the work you create?
We are compelled to create work that is highly physical with emotional honesty and strong audio-visual elements. Our current work, Limb(e)s, explores our ephemeral bonds and what it means to hold onto or let go of one another in our “darkest hour”.
Who inspires the work you create, for example are there people who have influenced and continue to influence the company’s artistic trajectory?
Ci actually came into being while we were at a circus and dance festival – we were seeing a lot of shows but not seeing work that reflected our interests and aesthetics. As we discussed what we would enjoy seeing on stage, we got inspired and decided to create it ourselves.
What are the core values of your company in three words?
Research. Experimentation. Commitment.
Do you have a practice that you carry out each day?
After years of being in a new city each week, with different training conditions, we’ve learned to adapt our practice and disassociate from our bodies… These days we’re enjoying regular walks in Stanley Park.
What’s coming up for you this season and how have you adjusted your programming?
This month we are starting rehearsals for our remount of Limb(e)s at the Dance Centre next June. Fortunately, we are partners in life as well as work, so our process is not as affected by the pandemic. If audience capacity is still reduced due to COVID-19, we will live stream with multiple cameras as the VIDF is currently doing.
What would you say is the biggest benefit to being a Dance Centre member for Company Ci?
Since we’ve been back in Vancouver, we’ve really enjoyed being connected to the Dance Centre community. We are looking forward to presenting in the Faris Family Studio next year, which the membership rate helps make possible.
Limb(e)s Trailer July 2019 from Gabrielle Martin on Vimeo.
Interested in becoming a Dance Centre Member? Learn more here
Photos by Chris Goff