Esther deMonteflores grew up in the Bay Area where she began her circus arts career at the age of nine in her back yard, developing and implementing a rigorous training regime to master the art of tight-rope walking. After many years as a professional aerialist (performing all over the world from Edinburgh, Scotland to Bogota, Colombia and lots of cities in between) Esther's love of rope walking has reemerged and she finds herself once again standing on a rope, this time focusing on slack-rope walking. In her recent work, Esther explores the intersection of slack-rope and dance, seeking a balance between technical skill and expressive movement. She is fascinated with the meditative, fluid quality of slack-rope and the inherent dynamic between tension and release that characterizes movement on the rope. She is interested in bringing slack-rope into the world of contemporary circus, developing her individual style of rope walking and unlocking the apparatus' unique story-telling potential. Esther is currently the artist in residence at the Lookout Arts Center.
Esther DeMonteflores | 2017
3:00 p.m. on September 23, 2017 5:00 p.m. on September 24, 2017 Since the dawn of time, humans have turned their faces to the sky and dreamed of taking wing. Of flying high above their earth-bound homes. Of soaring through clear skies. Of being a bird. But what have birds been dreaming of all this time? Do they dream of us? Do birds dream of walking tall down the streets of our immense cities? Wearing our fine clothing? Enjoying a refreshing glass of...bread? Tiny Cities is a 30-minute contemporary circus show featuring bread-filled wine glasses, cardboard-box juggling, life-sized pigeons, live costume changes and wire walking. Tiny Cities is an absurd and whimsical celebration of Columba Livia, the common pigeon. Perched on a power line, windowsill or park bench, the pigeon is the wildness in our cities, inviting us to change our perspective and see our homes in a new light. Tiny Cities builds community by bringing together an audience to experience high-level circus arts in their own neighborhood. Tiny Cities is suitable for all ages, can be presented indoors or outdoors and can be performed a maximum of two times per day. The slackwire set-up forms the stage for Tiny Cities and evokes one of the most ubiquitous features of the urban landscape. Power lines. This show reinterprets the landscape that it is presented in, injecting the city with magic and possibility. Glancing overhead to see a pigeon sitting on a power line will never be the same again.