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Andrew Sun

Compagnie 111's I.J.K.

Hong Kong City Hall Theatre

Ends Sunday

Compagnie 111 - which is like a smaller-scale Cirque du Soleil -  made its Asian premiere at the Hong Kong Arts Festival with a delightful performance, called I.J.K. Like Cirque, the French troupe of three   redefines circus art using theatre, music and stylish acrobatics.

I.J.K. is the first of a planned trilogy of works, with Olivier Alenda,  Aurelien Bory  and Anne De Buck  certainly laying a foundation for their explorations.

By using juggling, acrobatics  and a few nifty illusions, Compagnie 111 put on a compact show which was barely an hour long. But the images and sounds will keep you wondering how it was done.

The show is more intimate than other big-tent spectacles. There are minimal props - just a few rectangular boxes and quadrants. Without  speaking a word, the three  artists create a number  of  situations heightened by lighting and reverberating sounds.

They also use balls to bang out a cacophony of percussive rhythms and sounds - accompanying De Buck's melodic accordion playing or Bory's guitars and Alenda's flamenco taps. The show's uniqueness is in its sophisticated music.  It's not easy juggling half-a-dozen rubber balls against a surface, and it's even harder to turn them into a rhythmic groove. This is mathematics and physics turned into theatrical alchemy.

The virtuoso mix of physical skills and artistic elements is also made more engaging because Compagnie 111 is not interested in upping the ante on how many balls they can balance in mid-air or how many  strength moves they can add to their  routine. This is circus, not as sport, but as art.



Sonic jugglers make circus art, not sport