Circhio Lume theatre dance performance on the border with the clown

project by Federica Tardito and Aldo Rendina
with Aldo Rendina‚ Federica Tardito and Antonio Villella/Riccardo Maffiotti


music Bach‚ Mozart‚ Satie‚ Madonna
costumes Roberta Vacchetta
lights Lucia Manghi
co-productions Torinodanza‚ Drodesera>Centrale Fies and compagnia tardito/rendina
with the support of Associazione Sosta Palmizi/MiBAC
special tank to Marina Borruso and Doriana Crema

anno di produzione productions 2004

60 minutes

Circhio Lume

Three faded clowns, in a delirious and funny circus, are gambling everything to gain the centre of attention.
From a look at the mechanisms man puts into action to make people love him‚ to be the centre of attention‚ one enters with lightness and detachment the tragedies everybody lives‚ showing the pretexts and the lies created by the not understood victim.
A not narrative but a circular writing‚ which uses a language hovering between the tragic and the grotesque‚ a bit exaggerated and clownish.

Travel notes…

Life – tragedy – restraining judgement

We started from the desire of confronting and recognising in ourselves the mechanisms we adopt to be loved and which often trespass on the staging of a tragedy which always repeats itself…
To do that we realised we had to work hard: we had to learn to recognise the ideas we have about ourselves without following the judgement.

The body – the ideas

We have been training for a long time to transform ourselves‚ to widen our borders‚ not to identify with the form. If you identify with the emotions abandoning yourself to an idea‚ that is to say to that feeling which is purely mental‚ there is the danger of remaining obliged…
If you let this happen the space will shrink a lot‚ even the bodily one‚ and it is a sensation which doesn’t contribute to the freeing of the creative act. We need space to act.

To unmask oneself

At a certain bitter point of our work we noticed that we had started from an idea and that it had remained the same. so how could we make our longing concrete?
We realised that we had to create a relation with an audience in that moment invisible and allow ourselves to act an unmasking: “I come here in front and I show you that I‚ I‚ I‚ I build and feed the lie…

True – fake

A journey in a continuous balance in the attempt of staying with what was‚ being the “creators and the creatures”‚ “the witnesses and the testimonies”.
At the same time we had to set a mechanism in motion which was ours making it visible on the outside. Activating all the energies with the only aim of making people love us.
In order to penetrate into the areas of shade we had to turn on the light several times choosing the way of a saving humour…
During our job we used the words “poor little me” for that part of us which will never feel loved enough and will do anything to be…
The more I feel nobody and the more I make an effort to show the opposite… the more I fall and the more I want to fall again… the more I shout and the more I want to shout…
We think it’s fantastic to disclose it publicly as it contains a strong chance to change into a ridiculous drama.

Press excerpts…

“A funny and delirious circus‚ which intelligently plays on the razor’s edge of a declared‚ evident‚ devastating idiocy.
The creation (at Volterrateatro Festival 06) was welcomed by an enthusiastic ovation (…) That happened because Circhio Lume is a witty and crazy pastiche‚ pushed to paroxysm.
Really good at their work‚ they bring their hypothesis of non-dance to the dullest and the most destabilizing clownerie’s territories.”
A. Porcheddu
da www.delteatro.it

“Circhio Lume renders the various choreographic scenes small cameos made of a loneliness which burns‚ a wish to be that leaves breathless in a movement’s tension that releases herself in a surrealistic and never ordinary comic quality.
…the characters’ poor souls (…) they are poetic bodies‚ their faces tell an astonishment that strays into terror‚ they are little figures crushed by life.
The Tardito/Rendina Company confirms itself for the choreographic research’s strict precision and proves to be a group that we have to bear in our minds and we have to frequent with the affection of who can just love the ones which are able to show the lyric side of pain and of the love’s need.”
Nicola Arrigoni
da La Provincia

Places where Circhio Lume has played
  • 19 December 2021 Circhio Lume / Spazio Flic - Stagione 2021 | 2022 / Torino
  • 08 > 09 July 2017 Circhio Lume / “Summer Festival of Culture Activities for Kids in the Old City of Jerusalem” / Israele
  • 10 > 11 February 2017 Caffè della Caduta / Torino
    5 > 6 February 2017 ALTREDANZE – (AR) / Sosta Palmizi
    19 March 2016 Humor – Erbamil / Ponteranica (BG)
    29 > 30 January 2016 Caffè della Caduta / Torino
    7 March 2015 Camaleontika Almese (TO) / Fabula Rasa
    14 > 15 March 2014 Caffè della Caduta / Torino
    19 October 2013 Caffè della Caduta / Torino
    19 April 2013 Danae Festival / Milano
    20 March 2013 Scappo Danza Centro S. Chiara / Trento
    22 November 2012 NID Platform / Lecce – T.P.P.
    3 August 2012 Palcobaleno / Riccione (RM)
    24 February 2011 ArtiViveHabitat / Soliera (MO)
    27 March 2010 Casa del Teatro Ragazzi > Giovani / Torino
    1 > 3 December 2009 L’Officina / Théâtre Massalia Festival Dansem − La Friche La Belle de Mai Marsiglia (Francia)
    9 October 2009 Ponte Entre Culturas − Teatro Cine Horto Galpão Belo Horizonte (Brasile)
    6 October 2009 Istituto Italiano di Cultura − Sala Paissandu / Galeria Olindo / San Paolo (Brasile)
    2 October 2009 Istituto Italiano di Cultura − Teatro Angel Vianna / Centro Coreografico Rio de Janeiro (Brasile)
    29 September 2009 Festival Setiembre Escenico Montevideo (Uruguay)
    29 March 2009 Associazione Sosta Palmizi MIBAC − INVITO DI SOSTA / Arezzo
    25 March 2009 Accademia Perduta Romagna Teatri − ATERDANZA / Faenza (RA)
    24 January 2009 Tuscania in ballo − Teatro Comunale il Rivellino per ETI − Ente Teatrale Italiano / Tuscania (VT)
    8 November 2008 CRT − Centro di Ricerca per il Teatro – Short Formats / Milano
    12 September 2008 Teatro delle Ariette / Castello di Serravalle (BO)
    28 May 2008 Stagione Teatrale Crinali presso Teatro Comunale / Marzabotto (BO)
    16 May 2008 ATER presso Teatro Testoni / Casalecchio di Reno (BO)
    14 March 2008 ETI presso Cinema Teatro Mangoni / Isola dei Liri (FR)
    6 March 2008 Casa del Teatro Ragazzi > Giovani‚ IIª Vetrina Italiana di Circo Contemporaneo Torino
    2 March 2008 Arti Vive Festival 2008 presso Teatro della Rocca Novellara (RE)
    1 March 2008 Associazione Questa Nave stagione di Teatro Contemporaneo Marghera (VE)
    23 February 2008 Teatro del fuoco/Oda Teatro rassegna Oltre Confine Foggia
    16 > 17 October 2007 VIE Scena Contemporanea Festival / Modena
    6 > 8 September 2007 Festival La Luna nel Pozzo / Caorle (VE)
    4 August 2007 Festival Teater sün via / Sent (Svizzera)
    24 July 2007 Esteuropaovest / Montecorsaro (MC)
    22 June 2007 Il Giardino delle Esperidi / Ello (LC)
    24 April 2007 Armunia / Castiglioncello (LI)
    4 > 5 April 2007 Prospettiva Danza Teatro 2007 / Padova
    17 February 2007 Tracce di Teatro d’Autore / Castello d’Argile (BO)
    10 February 2007 Diversa/mente/teatro / Mantova
    3 February 2007 Proposta Teatro 07 − Val Trompia / Sarezzo (BS)
    20 January 2007 Teatro C. Gallerani / San Giovanni in Croce (CR)
    28 > 30 November 2006 Teatro Kismet Opera / Bari
    24 > 25 November 2006 Strade Maestre − Teatro Koreja / Lecce
    10 November 2006 Ballet 2006 / Spello (PG)
    12 > 14 August 2006 Musicalarue / Luxey (Francia)
    8 August 2006 Visioni / Monte S. Savino (AR)
    5 August 2006 Il grande fiume / Castelvetro Piacentino (PC)
    27 July 2006 Volterrateatro / Volterra (PI)
    20 July 2006 Lo spettacolo della montagna / Chiusa di S. Michele (TO)
    6 > 17 July 2006 (con pausa il 14) Festival Avignon off / Avignone (Francia)
    3 June 2006 Tra cielo > terra / Montefalco (PG)
    9 May 2006 Piccolo Teatro Don Bosco / Padova
    6 May 2006 Danzarte / Brescia
    18 March 2006 Atto Terzo / Verona
    9 March 2006 Dolo nei teatri / Dolo (VE)
    30 November > 1/2/3 December 2005 La Boîte à Jouer Bordeaux (Francia)
    11 > 12 November 2005 Festival Arte Memoria > Storia / Grugliasco (TO)
    16 September 2005 Torino Contemporanea / Torino
    15 September 2005 Teatri Invisibili / S. Benedetto del Tronto (AN)
    26 July 2005 Prima “Circhio Lume” Drodesera>CentraleFies / Dro (TN)
    6 July 2005 “Creazione: titolo provvisorio” Segnali all’orizzonte / Padova
    25 June 2005 “Creazione: titolo provvisorio” Teatri senza Teatro / Torino
    12 May 2005 “Creazione: tirolo provvisorio” Europa Teatri danza / Parma
    18 > 19 October 2004 Anteprima “Creazione: titolo provvisorio” Cantieri Italiani − Focus 6 − Torinodanza / Torino