In Blue Rooms: Solo un Duelo blends circus and dance at Fall for Dance North

21 Sep 2022 - photos supplied by publicist; photos by Bruce Zinger, Owen Willson, Rennete and David Bearman

"Circus and dance are both movement tools used to express your thoughts, opinions, emotions," says Santiago Rivera of In Blue Rooms premiering at the Fall for Dance North festival. "In Blue Rooms is the story of separation and coming together. We expect the audience to feel connected to their closest friends and the people they love. Understanding that normality is subjective and that re-arranging to what society defines as normal is not always what we as humans need. We all have the right to a support system full of love and compassion." And there is juggling. "As a performer I always desired learning more and more and as time passed by I realized that inspiration comes from everywhere," says Rivera. "Every art form represents an opportunity to enlarge my vision of what is possible and allows me to understand that the human body is capable of much more than I can imagine. I learned dance at the same time as I did circus so, for me, I never found a separation between them. Circus and dance are just tools that I use to express myself. Like gastronomy does, you put in different flavors in order to create something new."

Rivera performs in, and co-created, In Blue Rooms with Zack Martel. "Zack and I met at circus school in Montreal," says Rivera. "We were both accepted the same year to the same professional program. We specialized as jugglers with many hours of practice and research. The program had a duration of four years and ironically we didn't work together until our last year of school. The pandemic affected us very heavily and as a support system we decided to create our duo: Solo un Duelo. Our creations began becoming successful and we've been working together ever since. Zack and I had the vision of creating this project for a while as we are both inspired by contemporary dance. When Fall for Dance North saw us performing and invited us to collaborate with them, we knew this was the perfect opportunity to do it. We co-directed the project and tried to balance the work load in half as the decisions are also made with our artists. Nothing becomes official until everyone on the team feels comfortable with the decisions made."

Both dance and circus arts are incredibly demanding. "They both require an extensive understanding to be used correctly, and for them to become pleasing and entertaining for both an audience and the performers," says Rivera. "The same way that dance can be both technique and/or research, circus can be seen from the same angle. I believe that circus sometimes can be a bit more challenging just because of the risk it represents. A circus performance usually demands more of myself than dance does. The physicality involved for both art forms is very different but it completely depends on the production that I am involved with. Sometimes it can be insanely hardcore acrobatics and sometimes it can be the most minimalist movement. It's all subjective." 

Both Rivera and Martel are still expanding their artistic abilities. "Solo un Duelo is a juggling duo mainly," says Rivera, 'but we have had the chance to learn and explore other disciplines both individually and collectively. Zack's supportive disciplines are Russian bar and acro-dance. For me I've been able to explore Chinese pole, hoop diving, and movement research. We chose juggling as we've been part of the juggling community for a long time and we understand what is needed to continue innovating this discipline.  Any fan of the arts will find this show amusing. Our inspiration comes from everywhere and as we put things together, there will be something to share with everyone who comes to see the show. We truly hope people find it inspirational and come out of In Blue Rooms with a different vision of what caring is for others."

In Blue Rooms is on a bill at the Evergreen Brick Works but will also be performed in St Catharines and Orillia. "The show was created with the intention to be performed outdoors," says Rivera. "Fall for Dance North and Solo un Duelo have the same vision. Having accessible arts for everyone is our duty as artists. Being able to tour with the show, in front of people from different communities just makes this goal easier to achieve. We are happy this is happening with the support of amazing people around us. This is a collaboration we hope to continue for a long time." There has been considerable support for In Blue Rooms. "Fall for Dance North was generous in pairing us with amazing musicians who will be performing with us. The proposition came directly from the festival and we couldn't say no to that. Live music is always the best option for a show, always. Very experienced musicians from the Royal conservatory of music of Toronto will participate with us." 

Like circus and dance, Rivera doesn't want to choose between choreography or performing. "They are both really beautiful experiences," he says. "I live for performing, but seeing people perform my material and a movement quality, that I have put so much effort into, makes my heart so big and proud of the person I'm becoming. Hopefully something the audience will notice too." Both performing and creation are in his future. "I am currently an artist for Les 7 Doigts (Triptyque, Cuisine & Confessions) and am on tour with a show called Passagers. I perform multiple disciplines in the show and most of the acts have been created collectively with the most amazing team of artists from around the world. We will be performing in North America, Europe, and Asia. Cirque Eloize (Hotel) and I have always had the desire to work together but, due to my personal projects as a director/artist/performer, we have never had the chance to actually collaborate yet. We are still in open conversations for future projects."

Rivera handled the interview while Martel was busy choreographing and creating a show for a cruise line. The two are in demand for their blend of their disciplines. "Solo un Duelo has the intention of creating our own solo show under the external eye of Nicolas Cantin. He is an extremely creative creator and director who is influenced by physical theater and drama. We are in discussion with Fall for Dance North for an artistic residence that will take place in 2024. Hopefully by then we are even better performers. And better humans too." Performing In Blue Rooms will take up much of his time but Rivera plans to enjoy some of the many incredible pieces being presented at Fall for Dance North. "We met one of the dancers of Indigenous Liberation and the story they told us was inspirational and extremely interesting. I cannot wait to see what they will put on stage for all of us. Something no-one should miss for sure."