By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The circus is changing. Originating from ancient Rome, the circus was an open-air stadium, featuring acrobats, clowns, trained animals and other acts.
Since then, the circus has served as one of the major entertainment shows during the 19th century.
But the rapid development of multimedia, such as television, radio and films in the 20th century, estranged people from the circus because of its seemingly unnatural and overacted performances.
The circus, however, began shedding its old image from the 1960s-70s by adopting more theatrical and artistic elements, as seen in ``Quidam,'' an ongoing sold-out circus performance produced by Cirque du Soleil, instead of the use of animals.
Now, spectators are invited to watch another type of young circus dubbed ``Multimedia New Circus,'' matching the era of information and technology.
``The 7 Fingers,'' a Canada-based circus troupe, is coming to Seoul to perform ``Traces'' for the first time in Asia. The show will be held in the Theater Yong at the National Museum of Korea from May 25-27.
The circus troupe was formed by seven founding members, all former featured performers with Cirque du Soleil, in 2002.
``The 7 Fingers'' is known as the third generation of the new circus in Canada after the first generation of ``Cirque du Soleil'' and the second generation of ``Cirque Eloize.''
Following ``Loft,'' ``Traces'' is the second work directed by Gypsy Snider, the founding member of the troupe and choreographed by Shana Carroll, and premiered in 2005.
The show will be presented by five members _ Francisco Cruz, Raphael Cruz, Brad Henderson, Heloise Bourgeois and Will Underwood _ who were trained at the Ecole Nationale de Cirque in Montreal, Canada.
The performance revolves around a narrative texture mixed with an electric urban street energy and various themes by using various forms of media, a totally new sphere of circus performance in line with the development of multimedia.
The dynamic 90-minute show will feature mind-boggling and breathtaking acrobatic feats alongside state-of-the-art choreography.
The show deals with a chaotic situation and the main character's psychological state is portrayed, using graffiti, text and electronic waves through video projectors and slide shows.
Using traditional Chinese acrobatics, basketball, skateboarding, classical piano, dance, humor and illustration, they transform the circus into an innovative art show.
The five artists perform hoop-diving, pole-climbing, and chair-balancing, as well as more traditional western circus skills as teeterboard and trampoline.
The live music scores flow through various genres such as classical piano, guitar, jazz, pop and hip hop.
The performance was sold out in CINARS Arts Market in Canada last year.
The troupe will also take part in the Mime Festival in Chuncheon, Kangwon Province after its performance in Seoul.
Tickets cost from 20,000 won to 60,000 won. For more information, call 1544-5955 or visit www.cfnmk.or.kr.