Residency: 4th till 9th of August
Title of your performance (in progress): La Cosecha
What you are exploring during your residency: During our residency, we are exploring how to integrate various artistic elements into a cohesive and dynamic performance. This includes developing and refining our duo hoop act, as well as Mica’s string solo, bringing energy, intensity, and a sense of celebration to the stage.
We’re also experimenting with theatricality and symbolism, using long braids as a visual and narrative device, and heels and hoop as a way to challenge traditional movement vocabulary and gender-coded aesthetics in circus.
A key focus is the overall composition: how each act, object, and choice in stage design contributes to the rhythm and emotional arc of the piece. We’re playing with contrasts, stillness and chaos, intimacy and spectacle, to shape moments that feel like a party, a ritual, and a protest all at once.
This residency gives us space to weave together our solos, shared language, and scenographic elements into a full experience.
What is your performance about: At its heart, La Cosecha is our friendship story, but we are not the only ones involved. Our grandmothers and moms are part of it, our gossipy neighbour, the girl on the street of Cuernavaca singing Chavela Vargas, the bus-driver in Santiago that listens to cumbia and reggeaton while driving, the ones who leave, the ones who stay… The one who does the makeup on the subway because she does not have enough time.
There’s never enough time in Latinoamerica, but what there is always is: fiesta. And ‘fiesta’ is our revolution, La Cosecha is an ode to our constant fiesta inside and outside of ourselves, sometimes melancholic, sometimes absurd, sometimes hypnotic, sometimes big and chaotic.
Who are we? What’s left from our past since we migrated? We use the stereotypes and archetypes of our cultures, which are different but similar. We use aerial hoop, clowning, and absurdity to reclaim our roots. We are not alone, through our bodies and voices, some voices resonate inside us. Voices, colors, glitter, a big object falling from the sky, Latin music (from folklore to reggaeton), heels, make-up, maximalistic scenography, and more. And ode to our culture, sisterhood, resilience, and reappropriation. Let’s do a fiesta together.
Brief biography: I am Micaela Castrillo Vargas, one half of Insurgentes Company, with roots in Bolivia, Chile, and Spain, and I specialize in aerial rope. I am Itzel Sandoval Valladares, a Mexican aerial hoop artist and the second half of our duo. Together, we form a dynamic duo brought together by the shared passion for the circus, a connection that transcended geographical borders through immigration.
We graduated from ACAPA in 2023, where we developed seven solo performances that helped us find our unique artistic voices. These explorations brought us together, forging a creative partnership. Now, as Insurgentes Company, we’re taking up a new adventure. Our first piece, La Cosecha, was selected for Keep an Eye and selected for Makers for a Week with Tent and CirkLabo for Blankspace.
La Cosecha blends elements of circus, physical theater, and humor to tell personal stories, reflecting our Latin American heritage. This first performance transcends traditional circus, researching into how our cultural backgrounds shape our identities and relationships. We recently presented a work-in- progress at Festival Circolo, but our journey with La Cosecha is far from complete. We’re committed to deepening our investigation and refining the piece.
As artists, we’re at an exciting point in our evolution, driven by a passion for storytelling through circus arts. We continue exploring questions about our relationship with the audience: how to break the 4th wall and connect emotionally, especially with those unfamiliar with our culture or language. We believe these questions will guide us as we push the boundaries of circus, sharing our heritage in new, intimate ways.
Where to find more info about you/your work: www.instagram.com/insurgentes.co/