FLIP Fabrique: BLIZZARD

Returning to Chicago for the first time since 2014, FLIP Fabrique takes the Harris stage with their newest production, BLIZZARD, which explores the Canadian company’s intimate relationship to winter. Surrounded by a totally white room, eight performers contemplate the possibilities of a blank space before launching into a flurry of acrobatic maneuvers — acro, yo-yo, hula-hoop, aerial, trampo-wall, diabolo, clowning, and even more of their own invention. In the production’s unique twist, an onstage pianist accompanies the troupe’s dizzying display, playing in counterpoint and revealing the piano as a circus apparatus in its own right. Quebec-based circus troupe FLIP Fabrique creates original and dazzling stage works celebrating the art and joy of the circus. The company, founded by seven recent graduates of the École de Cirque de Québec in 2011, has toured internationally, playing New York, Amsterdam, São Paulo, Paris, and Athens. Renowned for “acts that don’t seem humanly possible” (New York Times) and their “wacky, energetic, and heartfelt” aesthetic (Not Without My Bowler Hat), FLIP Fabrique delights and astounds with their thoroughly 21st-century vision of what circus can be. Beginning at 6PM, Mix at Six is the series the Chicago Tribune said “ups the cultural ante considerably” features high energy, fast-paced programs after work and opportunities for audiences to engage with featured performers. Specialty cocktails and pop-up food truck fare will be available for purchase in the lobby. The approximate run time of this performance is 60 minutes with no intermission.