As our Guatemala residency came to an end an Envision Festival drew near, some members of our Momentom family shifted gears to Nicaragua. For one month, from January 15-February 15, we bunkered down on our famous Circus Island to prepare for what would be an epic 20-minute performance on the Luna Stage at Envision Festival 2020 (check out the full performance here!).
In the midst of training, clowning, and flying high, there were bound to be a few laughs and cherished memories during the epic month our family spent together.
Here are some of our favorite moments from our 2020 Circus Island Artist Residency:
Social Circus
The smiles on children’s faces says it all and reminds us why we do all this in the first place – to captivate and inspire! Getting the entire residency dressed up as clowns and diving into character following Ricky’s lead was a ridiculously entertaining experience for everyone involved and will not be forgotten.
Improv Midnight Cabaret
Circus folk will take any chance to express themselves, and one fine night when most of the residency was fast asleep, that’s just what they did. Not all were there to witness, but the rumour of a late night cabaret got out and all round the experience was nothing but transformational and overwhelmingly ridiculous.
Full Moon Party
We moved the entire residency down to Guasacate, made a fire pit and drank cacao on the sand guided by the sweet voice of Lielle as the moon slowly made it’s way into the sky. Joe took over an abandoned building with decks and a lazer and threw down beats into the night while we feasted on fresh Empanadas, and took over the beach with fire sword fights & aerial jams.
“He’s In My Room!”
The moment Eran was SO proud of his roommate, Will, on his video screening that the only way he could express himself was by screaming “He’s in my room!” This quickly stuck and became the highest form of recognition in the Circus Island familia.
Asher’s Debut MC Gig
When Asher reached out to the venue owner to return to his property as a volunteer, he had NO idea what he was getting himself into! Soon enough, Asher was working on a lot more than the property and had become a full blown member of the circus when he stepped right up as circus MC at our first Cabaret show dressed in Austin’s silk robe and tights for a complete transformation. Needless to say we were wondering where he had been all of our lives and very quickly adopted him into the family. Asher, we love you!
Shamanic Drum Journey to the Underworld
When T wanted us to connect deeper with other dimensions, she invited her dear friend Vinod in to offer the group a drum journey into the underworld and connect with the creatures living there. Vinod used Puruvian ritual and drum beats to evoke trance to take us into an altered state. This also became the opening scene of our Envision Show, Gravity is Optional. Residents returned to the room with visions of Owls, Black Cats, Orcas and even a Giraffe!
80’s Barre Class with Lindsey
Lindsey was a shooting star in our residency, just with us for two weeks but she left one hell of an impact! On her last day, we scheduled a pre-dinner barre class fully 80’s inspired with music and neon thong leotards to match. The energy in that room was electric! Lindsey, thank you for taking us there!
Austin Queen’s Video
When Austin arrived to Circus Island, he arrived with a vision. Within hours of landing he presented a proposal for filming an epic and completely risque video clip. Despite a ridiculous amount of scheduling issues as we were in the final days before the show, Austin managed to squeeze in a late night ‘bootiful’ filming and we can’t wait to see the end result!
Costume Creation Jam
In the final week of Circus Island we upped the energy for costume creation and hired a local seamstress to make our infamous “jellyfish” fabric and a plethora of other random creations. The most inspiring were the headpieces that each performer got their hands dirty with and learned completely new skills in the process. The results were STUNNING and these details definitely took the performance to the next level!
High-Lining with Julien at Magnific Rock
As soon as co-founder Gabrielle arrived, she arrived with a mission. That was to shoot our highline extraordinaire, Julien Desforges, high above the ocean on a line rigged from Magnific Rock. Soon enough the beach was littered with circus artists, real life mermaids and aerialists dangling from the highline.
These are just a glimpse into the awesome moments we create together, not only at Circus Island, but in all of residencies and time spent together. Interested in learning more, running away with the circus, or joining our family? Be sure to check out our residencies page for the latest update and subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the loop.
And, of course, don’t forget to check out our full 20-minute live performance from Envision Festival by clicking here.
Digging these photos? Check out our full photo album from Circus Island on Facebook as captured by the super-talented Austin Queen.
