Directed and choreographed by Bence Vági, the artistic director of Recirquel, Solus Amor (“Love Alone”) fuses contemporary circus with classical and modern dance is a monumental aerial production that employs “cirque danse,” a genre created with and by the company in the course of several years. The production talks about the different manifestations of love, exploring its different layers and forms. It evokes the only, primeval energy that spans all space and time, and connects us all, draws its power from the contemporary yearning for nature and wonders.
“In Solus Amor we are talking about grand, serious subjects,” says Bence Vági, “which concern everyone one way or another. We do so in a form and language that, instead of excluding, accommodate viewers who wish to think. Solus Amoris about faith and love, about nature and the universe.”
Solus Amor premiered in October 2020 in the program of CAFé Budapest Contemporary Arts Festival in Müpa Budapest, and received its international premier in May 2021 as the opening performance of Austria’s acclaimed Festspielhaus St. Pölten. Since then, the show has toured in France, Brazil, Italy, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Sweden, while further touring is scheduled for 2024 to Columbia, France and South Korea. In December 2023 Solus Amor was performed in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes as part of the Festival de Danse Cannes, where it was the only contemporary circus show in the program
The show employs eleven performers to tell a tale about faith and love, and about the universe and nature. Appearing on stage this time alongside the humans, who have always taken the lead roles thus far, is an animal as well... and not just any old kind of animal, either: Vági has commissioned South African puppeteer and puppet theatre director Janni Younge to construct a lifelike polar bear.
Solus Amor largely takes place in the air, enacting a veritable “aerial ballet” in front of the viewers’ eyes. Cirque danse is a hybrid genre, presenting a sequence of breath-taking tricks that defy the laws of physics as the acrobats simultaneously execute graceful and lyrical dance movements with exceptional effort. All of this fits the central theme of the show: love and its various manifestations, which the creators have collectively thought through in terms of how many people, ideas and things one can feel love for in one’s life, and in how many ways. The space of the stage and the characters envelope the audience in the manner of natural essences, facilitating complete immersion for the viewers as do ancient prayers. The original music, the grandiose stage and lighting design create an atmosphere delicately absorbing the audience.
As with every Recirquel production, the closely unified acoustic and visual world of Solus Amor is a key aspect. Together with Gábor Terjék, composer Edina Mókus Szirtes has written some complex and multi-layered music. The early chamber music sound and crystal-clear singing mixed with primaeval melodies and futuristic effects combine to create something unexpected. And as with the music, it is also not possible to determine whether the visuals credited to set designer Péter Klimó and costume designer Emese Kasza were inspired by the distant past or even the near future. The abstract multidimensional space is a place where the various branches of the arts reinforce each other.