FITS 2023: Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Part 5)

6 months ago

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Ok, it's that moment again. Even though I always say that I'll manage better the articles I want to write, I often end up quite in a rush of time to do so. I'm mentioning the rush because in 3 weeks the new edition of FITS 2024 will take place in town, and I haven't even finished writing about my experience attending the one from the last year! Phew!

I actually took part as a spectator in a bit over 40 shows last year which makes it really hard to go through every single moment, get the documentation and then set up a post with this purpose. Hence why, I decided to divide this experience into more parts as a long post doesn't necessarily also gain lots of people interested in it and would be a great loss not to happen so.

I also tried not to spam too much with this experience but rather write the continuation every once in a while so people have enough time to miss this kind of content, but again, as I have a long list with things I want to approach on my blog my distraction felt like being home.

Which is a bit funny thinking that this year's edition of FITS will have 57 shows on streets which I wish to attend, but we'll see to how many of them I'll make it and how long it will take to write about every single representation along this year.

Anyway, enough with the ramblings, I'll send you here to an older post where you can read more about this experience and what exactly represents so I don't recycle the content.

30. Balanced

The first show I'd like to begin today was picked absolutely random, but it also represents a subject of interest for most nature lovers.

Even though this was built following a funny line with plenty of jokes, interactions with the audience, as well as acrobatics of all kinds, you can notice that in the first picture, the two girls are dressed as hiking the mountains.

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This was just the intro for their representation, but basically, the two tried to hike an imaginary mountain which was the metal skeleton, but with zero success. Every time they were making a few steps up, they were sliding all the way down.

At first, this seemed quite funny, but the actual meaning behind all of this is nothing else but... global warming.

Now I know that perhaps everything makes a lot more sense to you but honestly, while many voices are trying to influence people for the better, I did appreciate seeing the same message shared through a show of acrobatics where we didn't forget to smile and laugh as well. Sadly, I am afraid not many know the story behind the French girls' show and won't do anything to change their habits into better ones, but at least it was a well-spent time out there.

Duration: 35 min
Premiere date: 01.01.2017
Original name: GRAVIR

31. Hairstyles on Height

When it comes to hairstyle and hair in general... I bet no one can beat women, right?

There are also women who enjoy taking everything to the next level, as well as pushing the limits without thinking too much about the risks. And that's exactly what Hairstyles on Height went about. Two Finnish women with impressive haircuts but which used these with lots of different purposes than the basic ones, such as hanging around, dancing, singing, and doing acrobatics without depending on anything else but their hair.

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And even if I wanted to see a similar show for a while now as I do have very rich hair and always wondered how easy it is to hang just with the help of this one, the representation of the two didn't reach the expectation of those from the audience including me.

Obviously, their efforts were amazing, but they didn't have full control over all the parts the show was divided into, and at times seemed rather dangerous than entertaining or making the audience curious.

Duration: 25 min
Premiere date: 18.11.2018
Original name: Attraction Capillaire / Hairy Attraction

32. EXIT

The next show was actually one of the most awaited by me since I've seen the schedule of FITS from 2023. Not only because there were four pretty men with an interesting description and definitely something different than everything seen so far, but it also seemed like a well-spent time after a few shows watched that happened on a lower level of fun than planned.

And all the rotating walls and doors took everything to the next level, which happily I got to admire in the front line this time. Too bad the intro lasted a bit too long until things became really interesting!

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The story behind this representation was a minimalist way of showing how most people are used to their routines that they end up walking and doing all their activities like robots rather than paying attention to the surroundings with the risk of running in front of a different person or missing a hand of help that could be offered to the others.

Hence why, with lots of gravity and space tested in many forms, all four managed to create a unique show of circus and contemporary dance by walking, jumping, climbing, propelling and colliding each other while showing how much influence one can bring in the life of the others.

Duration: 50 min
Premiere date: 18.02.2023
Original name: EXIT

33. Duel

Continuing on the same line of unique shows, there was another one that caught my attention and which I have not seen before even though it still involved acrobatics and circus which are pretty much part of most of the shows from FITS every year.

However, the unique part this time was with a show created completely in silence, with people being blindfolded until the night was setting by, when the lights were turned on but only on the stage. This was also the single show that did not have any music played in the background but only deafening silence that stirred a lot of controversy for the audience.

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The story this time was meant to show how much tension and emotion can be born from every single activity when it's silence around and the brains and hearts get to speak with each other without being distracted. A rather difficult subject if you ask me, as even if I've been patient from start to finish and respected their requests, sadly, most of the audience was gone after a few minutes since the show started seeming like something very boring, yet a proof of how quickly people tend to have premature conclusions and walk away.

Duration: 55 min
Premiere date: 17.09.2021
Original name: DUEL

34. Bahia del Mundo & Les Geants Legers

The next show represented a featuring between a Romanian band of music and a French team which is well known for its talent when it comes to creating all kinds of stories and figures by mixing balloons together which seem like living through every single action.

It's been again another first time to see a 2 in 1 show especially since both of these were presented under separate descriptions, but most likely the balloons could go along well with any other show of music and/or dance and having the Romanian band that is more known for the tribal and Brazilian rhythms than the local ones this time.

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Sadly I couldn't keep up with the whole show as kids and their parents got really excited on this one and I decided to step away from the crowd once I couldn't hear the music anymore. And while everything went more like a parade, this happened pretty quickly. But I really loved both the music and the big balloons that shrouded the town in a fairy tale for a couple of minutes.

Duration: 40 min / 60 min
Premiere date: 30.06.2023 / 01.07.2023
Original name: Bahia del Mundo / Coquelicot Balloons

35. Attention! We shoot!

On the list of very few things I don't like about a show, is to get up on stage. And since there are plenty of shows that more or less are based on the interaction with those from the audience, then it's a no-go for me! At least not in the front line!

This is pretty much what this show was about, which happily, had a lot of people to pick from when coming to the moment of interacting with the audience. But while I always hated being the one picked as I am an introvert and I feel like I won't make anything good up there, I am equally curious to see how others react and what I could have been involved in. Most likely this doesn't make a lot of sense but I know there are many people sharing the same feelings.

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And talking about shows that are entirely created based on the interaction with the audience, Attention! We shoot! was one of them. However, the subject is pretty much the same as there are needed 2 men and 1 woman where the two have to fight to conquer the heart of the woman, but this can be different from one show to another depending on peoples' reactions and how far they can go. In this case, we had lots of laughter and all the people chosen did a really good job, which made me completely forget to take pictures of those moments full of suspense.

Duration: 45 min
Premiere date: 22.04.2015
Original name: Street Coffee

36. In The Name Of Joy

On the list of shows that I wanted to attend at least once in my life, there was also ballet. And while there are quite a few famous ballet representations held in town which gather people from all around the world, the lack of time or not being fast enough to get the tickets before being sold out, made me miss most of these until FITS 2023.

The joy was even bigger to have a team entirely made from local students even if they shared different nationalities, but all the vibrant colours and smiles every single dancer shared through their moves and costumes, did stir a lot of emotion in the audience as well.

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And like most of you might have anticipated, there is no story in this case but more of a whole vibe to be shared further by the first international company of dance from Romania that was founded in Sibiu and managed to gather tens of students by the passage of time, of different cultures.

Duration: 45 min
Premiere date: 14.02.2019
Original name: În numele bucuriei

37. The Wonder of Romanian Traditions

And last but not least, I kept the final show of today's part of FITS 2023 for a local representation which was more like a concert since it was held on the main stage of the event, but it felt like a great mix with a bit of everything for those curious about the Romanian traditions and culture.

Hence why, some of the elements that could be seen within the show and which also belong to the UNESCO World Heritage, are the shirt, doina, traditional dances, calusul, and a lot more, being shown from both the traditional and contemporary perspectives.

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Sadly, this was held at the same time as some other shows and I couldn't attend it entirely, but I really felt it like a great summary with a bit of all the elements that create the traditions and cultures of Romania.

Duration: 120 min
Premiere date: 30.06.2023
Original name: Miracolul tradițiilor românești

This post represents the 5th part of FITS 2023 and the events and shows I managed to attend on the 6th and 7th days of the festival. There are a few more parts coming up in the following period as the festival lasts for 10 days in total. But until they are all set up and posted, you can check down below the past editions of FITS.

FITS 2023 posts:

FITS 2022 posts:

^{Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additonally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (300+ articles written on this field), but also abording other topics as well, like game reviews, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 700+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, editing, cooking, and doing various sports activities.}

~ @GabrielaTravels ~