After much deliberation, here, in alphabetical order to avoid expressing any favouritism, are the performers for LFAJRB 2013, barring any unexpected cancellations. It’s a lucky coincidence that our star performer’s name starts with an A or I might have had to formulate a different order 🙂 I can’t tell you how tough it has been coming to the decision as there have been so many deserving applicants. Some of us, like myself, have become rather ubiquitous at the Festival and on the world circuit, so it has been hard balancing the ‘usual suspects’ who everyone wants to see with allowing new talent a platform. After some consideration, Murakawa and I are stepping down this year and not doing shows. Also, we both have so much to do anyway that shows are another stress we don’t need. It will be refreshing to just enjoy the Festival.
- Tied by Kalahari
Running BOUND has proved to be invaluable since it is almost a microcosm of the Festival and has allowed us to talent scout. We have selected those who have put on stunning shows at BOUND including Umino, Andrea Ropes, Vinciens and Miumi-U, plus, of course, the regulars like Jack and Zahara, Dave and Clover, Shin and Nancy and others who have also impressed the team at previous Festivals and elsewhere like Vlada and Falco. On our travels, we have had the good luck to unearth a new star in the making, Kalahari from Russia. This young guy has Naka Akira ryu off pat and we saw him very competently handle a few other styles. Having seen him and his partner at work during a shoot (left), I can tell they totally get the aesthetic. I have high expectations of his show and hope he doesn’t have any visa problems. I understand our visa application process is still a nightmare for Russian’s. LacedLines was included after pulling off a stellar improvised performance last year after being thrown in the deep end by filling in for another performer at the 11th hour.
I’m delighted that our final line-up is far from male dominated. The ladies chosen have been selected as outstanding performers and it is fantastic to see so many of that calibre in an environment which is often regarded as patriarchal. Each is very different and stands on their own merits. Amy Morgan exhibits the most authentic style that I’ve seen from an American female rigger, Muimi-U, a student of Kinoko’s, has earned her stripes performing at Sleeping Beauty and elsewhere here and in Japan, Nina has made astonishing progress and exhibits great originality, Saki Kamijoo comes highly recommended as the fastest rope slinger in the east and Vlada’s unique shows with the inhumanly flexible Falco are unforgettable. I have extra admiration as we guys usually have it easy as we generally have strength and weight on our side. For example, Nina is 65% of my weight yet she is more used to working with somebody who is 150% of her weight. I know how much performing with a 100kg model would slow me down! Drop lifts are out of the equation for starters, except as part of a comedy act 🙂 Hats off to the ladies.
- Akira Naka & Iroha (Japan)
- Amy Morgan (USA)
- Andrea Ropes (Italy)
- Jack the Whipper & Zahara (UK)
- Kalahari (Russia)
- LacedLines (UK)
- Miumi-U (Japan)
- Nawakiri Shin (Taiwan)
- Nina Russ (EU)
- Saki Kamijoo (Japan)
- Umino & Azooka (DragonRope) (Switzerland)
- Vinciens (Austria)
- Vlada & Falco (Russia)
- Wykd_Dave & Clover (UK)