The Star: November 09, 2017

32 Thursday November 9 2017
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
The Star
Theatre/Arts
Cirkopolis more than just a circus
• By Georgia O’Connor-Harding
CIRKOPOLIS, the theatrical
circus show taking the world by
storm, is to make its New Zealand
debut at the Isaac Theatre Royal
next week.
Canadian-based troupe Cirque
Éloize has stepped away from its
traditional roots of pure circus
to blend a dazzling mixture of
theatre and dance into its highlyacclaimed
show.
Set in a dull metropolis-themed
factory, small glimpses of colour
slowly begin to seep through as
artists break away from monotony
before the show bursts into a
sparkling party. The first artist to
expose a flash of colour is Rosita
Hendry when she removes her
grey coat revealing a red dress.
“Gradually. we see a glimpse of
colour and by the end of the show
everybody is completely broken
out of this structured world . . .
it is quite fun to have that transition,”
she said.
Audiences will see Hendry, 27,
perform one of her specialities –
the cyr wheel.
The only Kiwi artist to perform
in the show, she grew up in Auckland
and is the eldest of seven
children.
Hendry describes the cast as
“like a little family”; a multicultural
one with performers from
countries including Canada,
England and Japan.
“We have a common language
and we all know circus,” she said.
Hendry said she had not come
across a lot of Kiwis in her time
travelling overseas and she is
fortunate to have made it where
she is.
The tour of Cirkopolis has already
taken her around the world
to Paris, London, Australia and
Germany.
Training to become a performer
has been a lifelong process
for Hendry who first started gymnastics
when she was four before
moving into dance and music.
Following her schooling, she
moved to Australia to train at
DAZZLING:
The magic of
Cirkopolis will
be brought
to life at the
Isaac Theatre
Royal from
Tuesday to
Sunday.
the National Institute of Circus
Arts where she graduated with a
Diploma in Circus Arts.
She then moved to Canada to
train at Ecole Nationale de Cirque
where she graduated earlier this
year as a specialist in aerial rope
with a minor in cyr wheel.
Hendry said she is excited to
travel to Christchurch, having
only been here a few times for
gymnastics competitions.
She said she is hoping to run
workshops for the circus community
while she is here as a way of
giving back to the friends she had
made in the city.
•Cirkopolis will run from
Tuesday to Sunday at the
Isaac Theatre Royal. To book
tickets, go to http://premier.
ticketek.co.nz
TRAVEL: Cirkopolis has taken
Kiwi circus performer Rosita
Hendry across the world.