FedUpDay, YawnDay, Don’tWantToDay, ProcrastinationDay, NotFreeDay, TooTiredDay, Where’sTheSunDay.
Somewhere, Someone has been tasked with putting the same balls into the same crate over and over again. Someone does this day in, day out, year in, year out, and no one actually knows why. Hoping that the walls won’t collapse on Someone, Someone starts throwing the balls against the walls. And so the balls travel ever further though the space, in a way that is sometimes graceful and deceptively simple, sometimes powerful and complex. If all goes well, they land neatly in the crate.
But things don’t always go well. And how much of that ‘not-well’ can Someone take?
As the balls become so much dead weight, Someone Somewhere tries to unravel a new dimension in space and time – or is it in the mind? – in order to escape the colourless monotony. And when that works, something happens that could be called pure magic.
For Ballroom, you take a seat in a converted lorry. Inside, visual artist Lodewijk Heylen has created a concrete set in which juggler Stijn Grupping, thanks to a lot of practice and a little magic, creates an incredible dance of bouncing balls. Accompanied by the sounds of musicians Jochem Baelus and Frederik Meulyzer, he takes you on a wordless journey.
“It makes Ballroom a circus performance with not only impressive technical juggling skills, but also a visual magic that instantly makes you feel like a child again. Because beyond the groundbreaking technique that creates wonder, this performance also simply makes you dream, until after half an hour you bounce like a ball back into reality.”
’Juggling becomes magic, circus pure poetry. A must-see.’
"Never seen such astonishing bouncing balls-yet. Until one ball suddenly stops bouncing. We end up in a magical-realist universe where the balls appear, disappear and float. The distinct concept and narrative magic made Ballroom a favorite of many experienced festivalvisiters. "
‘A powerful play in space and time that aptly raises questions about how we, as modern working people, experience time.’
‘Ballroom is both powerful and masterly. It is an experience that defies the audience’s imagination, puts them firmly in a hold and never lets go. The boundaries of juggling have been pushed back a little further, as have those of object manipulation.’
‘Directed by Ine van Baelen, this impressive play is just the beginning [ … ] Grupping emerges as a kind of magical ball whisperer who ultimately no longer needs walls to make them return to his hands.’
‘Ballroom shows that circus can be so much more than a succession of mind-boggling acts. The craft and technique with which Grupping masters his juggling balls does not keep him from telling a story as well.’
