French art collective Compagnie Basigna recently debuted “Soka Tira Osoa,” a cross-disciplinary performance that featured high-wire artist Tatiana-Mosio Bongonga suspended in air above the South Street Seaport Museum. The show, whose title translates to “pulling the rope,” closed out Down to Earth, a new, free outdoor festival that showcased a plethora of multidisciplinary art. “What you’re about to see is contemporary circus,” said festival advisor Ruth Walker to the crowd at Pier 16, seated on each side of the floor surrounding the open-air performance space that housed a deconstructed set. She referred to the show as “some of the great performance work that is being created around the world at this moment.”
The performance, which featured live music, dancing, and acrobatics, highlighted the power of collaboration and togetherness, using the building of the set and raising the highwire as a central part of the performance. The members of Compagnie Basigna floated between roles at times, sometimes performing as musicians and at others, climbing tall structures to aid in the show’s construction. Bongonga herself could be seen pulling her weight alongside the other performers, pulling ropes before she took to the skies. The audience was equally involved — those seated around the space were prompted to pull ropes to aid in the tension of the highwire. As it rose higher, Bongonga rose with it.
Bongonga put on quite the spectacle, infusing bits of humor into her act that featured the artist manipulating and moving around a tiny wire, and a really long stick called a balancing pole — like when she “napped,” on the ropes before walking across it with ease. Onlookers watched in amazement as Bongonga performed amidst the scenic backdrop of the Hudson River. While Bongonga’s high-flying performance was certainly a highlight, the importance and power within the team was stressed — there could be no show, no high wire, and no tricks from Bongonga were it not for the efforts of the team, and the audience members who banned together for one simple goal: to engage with art, which we have learned is to engage with each other.