The Flock Project


THE FLOCK PROJECT

The Flock Project - international vertical dance company

DANCERS GLIDING LIKE A FLOCK OF BIRDS, JUMPS, SPINS AND SOMERSAULTS IN THE AIR AS HIGH AS 30 METRES ABOVE THE AUDIENCE. VERTICAL DANCE TROUPE, THE FLOCK PROJECT, TURNS THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN AND TELLS US STORIES FROM A NEW POINT OF VIEW.

Our artistic team was formed in 2016 by members of the Simorág DanCircus and the Firebirds. What makes vertical dance special is the illusion that the performance takes place on a stage turned 90 degrees.

We combine the special elements of aerial acrobatics in our shows, which we take to national and international events and locations. There is no need to set up a stage for the performance, the production takes place on the walls of houses and castles, up to 30 meters high in the air. Creativity, modernity and technical innovations characterize our work.

Using an industrial alpinist fixation technique, and horizontal movements on vertical walls, our choreographies are made up of aerial jumps, spins, runs, and somersaults, combining dance and circus. Individual and synchronized movements complement each other. The vertical dance works as an independent theatre performance in itself, but we are also happy to perform as the opening or closing show of various events. This is how we participated in the international architecture forum, the Prague Quadrennial, or the 2019 European Maccabi Games.

The performances feature various circus and dance techniques, live music, video projections and literary texts. Our first performance was created in collaboration with the György Ferenczi and the Rackajam Band, who play the unique genre of folk rap and use music and literature to erase genre boundaries. All of our performances are set to live music, in collaboration with the György Ferenczi and Rackajam Band and jazz musician János Vázsonyi.

We like to compose our choreographies to poetic texts and music, which are often connected by an actor-musician duo in our performances, but we are also happy to create original poetic montages.

Some of our performances are stories based on theatrical dramaturgy. As creators, we like to reflect on contemporary social phenomena according to their relevance. Our works often feature our relationship with the environment and the issue of mutual attention.

Thanks to the uniqueness of the genre, the production can be realized on different surfaces. We have already held performances on columns, sycamore trees, in the interior of a factory building, on castle walls, bastions, on the glass wall of a hotel, and even on a mountainside. We took part in a fashion show in Poland, as well as performing a surprise show at a private factory inauguration party.

The Flock Project was formed in 2016 by members of long-established troupes that had been active for a long time, had received numerous professional awards and had toured internationally. In addition to rural venues and festivals in Hungary, in recent years TFP has toured in Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Serbia, and the Czech Republic, among others.

The company also cooperates with the Colourful City Organisation, Hungary's first firewall painting and public space colouring organisation. Our permanent light artist team is that of Gabeetoo and Bala, with visual artist Gábor Gregovszki creating graphics especially for our performances. Since we were established, we have been making a new premiere every year, and the Mediawave Festival is our permanent partner in this!

REPERTORY

We have several full evening performances in our repertoire. Each production is performed by 3, 4 or 5 vertical dancers. The one entitled Flock of Birds Episodes can be performed either at daytime or as an evening show supplemented with full-scale lighting and background projection, and can be accompanied by either a small or a large orchestra. Our shows are 30-minute-long independent works of art. We are also open to creating tailor-made site-specific performances at unique locations. MEMBERS OF

THE FLOCK PROJECT COMPANY

Vertical dancers: Zója Drávai, Gaia Santuccio, Gergely Geret Kiss, Lennart Paar, Ágnes Simor, Sophie Zoletnik
Orchestra: György Ferenczi and the Rackajam, and János Vázsonyi

Visual design: Gabeetoo and Bala
Actors: Kriszta Tarsoly, Bálint Turai
Technical manager: Sophie Zoletnik
Industrial alpinists: Ágnes Simor, Balázs Szabon, Sophie Zoletnik
Company manager, director: Ágnes Simor

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Each performance is preceded by a personal or online location scout together with our alpinist and architect colleagues. The minimum wall surface for vertical dance is 12x15 metres, but ideally we perform on 25-30 metre high walls. In case of a site-specific project we are happy to adapt to the given conditions of columns, trees or unique installations. Due to the diversity of locations each installation requires separate assessment and planning. During installation we pay special attention to building protection. The company provides the entire range of tools and equipment necessary for wall dancing. In all cases several days of installation time and onsite testing are required.

VIDEOS

 The Flock Project - Wall dance

Vertical dance, The FLOCK Project, Kertész str. performance demo

The Flock Project - Flock of Birds Episodes