16.07.2020

Optional Activities Cycle of Lectures” presents the Magic World of the Circus

To bring students closer to the circus world, Optional Activities team invites trapeze artist, teacher and former Cirque du Soleil artist Natalia Presser to tell her stories.  The artist gave details from the training routine to the moment of the show. The conversation also brought together parents, family and staff members, and was mediated by our teachers in partnership with BATHKA.

The trapeze artist stressed the importance that her training in artistic gymnastics had at the beginning of her journey in the circus and how she realized that what she really liked was performing without worrying about the grade she would receive, that it made her very happy. “It was in the circus that I learned to be an artist, we enter the presentation with other elements besides our body, such as music, costumes, lighting and teamwork. The circus becomes a show and the important thing is how you communicate with the public and share the story”.

Throughout the online meeting, Natalia told us about her time with Cirque du Soleil and the experience of having her daughter by her side during these moments. “This was certainly a very special experience for me. In the company, she had a school, a person who trained and took care of her when I was training or performing. At the time, there were about 12 children and three teachers, the school was in a truck container which the children helped to set up to be able to have classes”. She also explains how the routine and change between countries in which she performed worked, says that between one country and another, they had a week of rest and that they used that time to travel and visit the place.

When asked about the circus’ contribution to her life, the trapeze artist states that whether she is an artist or not, this circus universe is present in several aspects. Especially in childhood, when children can enjoy what they are doing when they are doing it, think about it and get the most out of it, and only then try to find out what they will want for the future. She emphasizes that this is the essence of the circus, it brings this present moment, the here and now.

At the end of the lecture, the conversation flows into the fear of the stage and the mistakes that can happen during a performance. Natalia says that she needs to have a strong integration of all involved and a great team work, and that created several moves and steps to always ensure that nobody gets hurt. “One thing we ended up learning is how to get out of a mistake, we need to continue the show. And this is something that we can take for life, we cannot let an error interfere with everything else, we need to get up and continue ”, she concludes.