“At Tipping Point, we are one synergetic body.” Candela Murillo is one of six performers in Tipping Point who keep trying to find balance on a huge, tilting object. “Individuality has no meaning here, it’s a collective journey,” she says.
“As a child, I had too much energy. You go dance, my mother said.” Thus began Candela’s energetic dance career: on her mother’s advice, at the conservatory in Seville. “It was only there that it became clear to me that I loved it.”
What followed was an exploration that took her through different dance styles and countries as well as a career as a visual artist. Five years ago, Candela arrived in her provisional final destination: The Netherlands.
Workshop
“When I arrived in the Netherlands, I immediately started finding out what dance companies there were here. That’s how I discovered Panama Pictures; I found that fusion of dance and circus fascinating. I had never done anything with circus before and wanted to know more about it. But when I emailed Pia and asked if I could audition, she informed me that she only works with men. She advised me to take a workshop at Panama Pictures once, to experience that special mix for myself and explore my possibilities.”
New world
Due to other projects, it took until last year for Candela to attend the workshop. But then there was an immediate click, mutual. So much so that Pia asked her as a temporary replacement in the performance Into thin air. And then as a performer in Tipping Point.
“That was really a new world for me. Circus is very different from dance – the practice, the process. I discovered that in circus, much more than in dance, you work together towards a main goal, both physically and in relation to an object. It’s a joint endeavour and you put yourself second to that; that’s almost the reverse in dance. Dance is more about the intention and meaning you give to the movement. In Panama Pictures we combine that, the common goal and the individual experience of the movement.”
Letting go of own thoughts
At Tipping Point, a huge challenge is added: the large, barely controllable semicircular object on which the performers balance. “Yes, that really is a new dimension. That platform is completely unpredictable, any kind of balance can only come about by working together with each other and that object. Individuality makes no sense here, it’s a collective journey.”
“You have to let go of your own thoughts, be ready and open for a response and align that meticulously with those five other bodies. Trust and honesty are then essential. We learn to give only what is needed. For me, that is the beauty of this show: the ability to give up your individual expectations. At Tipping Point, we are one synergistic body.”
Panama Pictures’ performances involve a lot of enthusiastic and skilled makers, in front of and behind the scenes. Together they make up our company. You can read their (and therefore our) stories here.