Carroll & Snider’s Affectionate Acrobats Thrill & Inspire

 by Barry David Horwitz

You can only see “Dear San Francisco” at Club Fugazi in North Beach. Born out of Cirque du Soleil with a dash of “A Chorus Line,” the multi-cultural cast flies up to the rafters and swoops into our hearts. The beautiful young acrobats put their bodies and souls into the stories of their lives in the City.

In a witty scene, each one takes a turn in a phone booth, talking to friends far away. They remind us that San Francisco is a place to re-imagine yourself.

Whether they’re gay and coming out of the closet or exploring varieties of sex and gender, San Francisco beckons them to fly high. Here at the end of the continent there’s nowhere else to go but UP.

The 7 Fingers Troupe epitomizes the old spirit of San Francisco, rising like the phoenix on the City’s flag. The S.F. spirit rises from the devastating 1908 earthquake and is revived in the 60s by the Beat Poets at City Lights Books just around the corner. They assert the old Italian and Bohemian spirit, as they read stirring lines from Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Diane DiPrima:

Constantly risking absurdity
and death
whenever he performs
above the heads
of his audience
the poet like an acrobat
climbs on rime
to a high wire of his own making . . .

—Lawrence Ferlinghetti, “Constantly Risking Absurdity (#15)”

“Dear San Francisco,” a love letter to the City, bring us a sweet circus full of graceful wonders. These international acrobats—from San Francisco, Brazil, Colombia, China, Oakland, England, and Canada—do triple duty as singers, dancers, and gymnasts. As they fly through hoops, swing from trapezes, and form amazing human pyramids, risk flying off the intimate Club Fugazi stage right into our laps!

As Enmeng Song from Shandong, China displays the incredible ancient art of juggling Diabolos, a Chinese spinning yo-yo, he performs feats that defy gravity.  Later he juggles hats so fast they look like a blur. Song and his partner in the Diabolo dance, Shegnan Pan, perform extraordinary acts with the spinning top of delicate strings. You can not take your eyes off the amazing couple.

In another incredible scene, the whole gang take turns throwing themselves through the small space of a free hanging hula hoop, squeezing themselves down to the size of an orange. It’s an unbelievable feat of leaping and flying. We’re so close that we could catch them as they fly off the stage. Keep you eyes on graceful Dominic Cruz from the East Bay as he flies through the hoop high in the air. And follow muscular Eduardo de Azevedo Grillo from Southern Brazil as he defies gravity and logic to rocket through the hanging hoop. Amazing.

Whether they’re sliding down an impossible pole and saving themselves at the last minute or forming a human pyramid with a one-person handstand on the top, they all express the essence of youth, cooperation, and joy.

It takes a hell of a lot of togetherness to work so smoothly as a team, up in the air, climbing each other’s bodies and showing us how physical fluidity and practiced  beauty can commingle.

As the team writes challenging words over Colombian Gabriela Diaz’s body—”chaos, hate, hopeless”—she responds by performing acrobatic feats with the team. Then, she slowly wipes alway all the negativity of the world. And keep your eyes peeled for the lyrical dance of the umbrellas, as Shengnan Pan balances delicate white parasols on her feet, making them dance in the air.

This is the high-flying spirit of San Francisco brought to us by accomplished acrobats who give their all. They are living their hearts in San Francisco, and making ours beat faster, too. It’s a unique and thrilling experience at charming, old-fashioned Club Fugazi.

“Dear San Francisco: A High-Flying Love Story” –created & co-conceived by Shana Carroll & Gypsy Snider, directed by Shana Carroll & Gipsy Snider, produced by The 7 Fingers, at Club Fugazi, San Francisco. Info: ClubFugaziSF.com – Ongoing

Cast: Dominic Cruz, Eduardo de Azevedo Grillo, Gabriela Diaz, Maya Kesselman, Jose Miguel Martinez Gomez, Shengnan Pan, Ellie Rossi, Zoe Schubert, and Enmeng Song.

Banner photo: Jose Miguel Martinez Gomez & Gabriela Diaz. Photo: David Allen