Interview with Bence V&aacute;gi

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

My name is Bence Vági, I'm the founder and artistic director of Recirquel Company Budapest, a hungarian contemporary circus company found in 2012 in Budapest. This year at Fringe Festival Recirquel is presenting 22 shows of Paris de Nuit at Assembly George Square.

How would you describe your show?

Paris de Nuit is really a diverse show where you can see some of the best contemporary dancers, circus artists and finest jazz musicians of Hungary. Paris de Nuit carries, despite it's french title, something deeply hungarian because it's linked to the artwork of a famous hungarian photographer, Brassai. Brassai was the first photographer able to capture night images. He lived in the 1920's-'30s of Paris. Recirquel has taken these images and allowed them to be inspiration using the descriptions, stories Brassai written about the same characters he photographed.

During the creation this was essential for us. We worked a lot on showing both faces of these characters, imagining how these people moved, behaved and trying to relate to the audience. If I want to put it simply, Paris de Nuit is a great theatre show. Not only dance and not only circus that is entertaining you, but theatre with which you identify.

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was a turning point for my carrier. Eight years ago was the first time that I was confronted for real with contemporary circus and it happened at the Fringe. On my way returning back from Edinburgh I was imagining how great it would be to create a company both with circus artists and dancers. So after getting back I started my research in Hungary and finally found 11 young artists with whom we started our first small project that premiered with a great success and led to the founding of Recirquel.

Here we are now, five years later, being one of the main acts of Assembly. It's beautiful, this point of returning: you dream about something and years later you arrive back to the place where your dream was actually dreamt.

What differentiates it from other festivals?

Fringe is outstanding among all the other festivals because it gives opportunity to anybody basicly. People who might not have so much experience or background can be discovered by professionals and helped to take their carrier on board. This gives the festival a particular energy. Fringe is an event with vibes I never experienced anywhere else.

Do you think the Fringe has changed over the years? If so, how? Are these changes positive or negative?

I haven't experience so much change over the years. If you keep your eyes wide open there are always exciting, new productions to discover.

What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?

I am not sure I ever thought about it exactly as an industry. For me doing what I do now is about a vision. A vision to speak to people, to express inner feelings. Not only to express your own ideas, like making a „stamp" of your thoughts, but to let people understand your ideas through their own perspective. Also during creation I do my best to give people the freedom, the space for their own thoughts.

Inspirations is a hard question because I had a lot of them, for this I can definitely consider myself a lucky man. I had wonderful masters in dance, cinema, theatre or writers, architects who shaped the way of my carrier. However if I should name only one then it's Bob Fossey.

If you didn't have your current job, what would you probably be doing?

Definitely something with nature. I do love animals, I do love to stay in and with nature. When I am not working with the company I spend as much of time with travelling as possible. To be honest I have quite a special affection for deserts. The magic of an „empty space".

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

I wouldn't give up my job for anything. It's my destiny. If I must choose I would choose the exact same.

What is your earliest childhood art memory?

I grew up in a family where art was respected. Every member of my family has some kind of link to arts there are several childhood memories I could name.

One of them is for sure the first time I saw Franco Zeffirelli's Rome and Juliet. I remember clearly, as a child I didn't even know yet what I was actually watching, but the looks, those beautiful faces, the music, the song at the end amused me. The other one is Cats. I'd just started dancing that time and I think I went to see Cats in the theatre at least ten times.

Do you ever feel any pressure to be a social commentator, or constantly update material to respond to events?

It's a duty in my opinion. To make a performance is like talking to the people therefor it does carry responsability in itself. If you start a conversation – and performing arts, creating a production is creating a conversation – you also have to face the moment when questions are asked and expected to be answered.

Equally, do you think there has been a shift in public sentiment that has affected your work?

Public sentiment is always shifting from one direction to another. I am not quite sure that adjusting ourselves over and over again to the public sentiment would allow us to speak the language we have inside our hearts. I believe in focusing inside, talking only about things that go through an inner monologue. I mean I am not an artist of always reflecting to the „momentum", the daily happenings of our planet. I prefer to think in broader connections and this is true for my creations: the basic powers of the earth, the powers moving the endlessness of time or the universe is what interests me.

Describe the last year in 5 words or less?

We toured 150 days abroad.

If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?

There had been way too many great artists during history to give a sure answer. Maybe Caravaggio. Because on one side he could portray reality nearly as a photograph, but on the other side still he was able to code the moment. The light, the sensuality, the eroticism in the most delicate way possible.

Why would a performer opt to do either a ticketed event or participate in the free fringe? What are the benefits and limitations of both?

As a circus artist you have an incredibly short life span in your carrier. This is a fact. Our artists need to make a living, keeping in mind not only their present but their future as well and as a company we must take care of our own artists. Therefor for us it would be nearly impossible to do a show for free. However I find it a great opportunity for artists who are not known yet by the public. It gives the chance that someone, for example a programmer might just pop in and say, „This is excellent, this is something I am looking for."

What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?

Be sure about your work. Though a piece of work can never really be finished, make sure that what you offer to the audience is ripe.

When and where can people see your show?

Paris de Nuit will be performed from the 3rd to the 27th August 22 times at Assembly George Square Gardens, Palais du Varieté for tickets go to www.edfringe.com

And where can people find, follow and like you online?

Paris de Nuit is performing at Assembly George Square Gardens at 20:30 on 3rd – 27th (not 9th, 14th, or 21st). For tickets and more information visit the Ed Fringe website.