7 Fingers Production presents "Traces". Photo Credit: Michael Meseke.

There are none of the typical signs onstage at Union Square Theater indicating that a circus-type show is about to start, except for two vertical poles dead center. Replacing carnival rings and nets and clowns are everyday objects such as chairs, a piano, a wooden desk, and…a screen with my face on it? I recognize myself in surveillance footage that was taped a few minutes earlier of people entering the theater to see Traces. It is a shock to the system to realize that I was unknowingly being filmed minutes before, but it breaks the barrier between the stage and the audience and foreshadows how personal Traces will be. Then seven performers burst onto the stage unexpectantly and begin an energetic modern dance sequence with a few components of the more-daring acrobatic feats that lie ahead. Over the next 90 minutes, the performers risk their lives to impress the engaged audience, and achieve their goal of making the circus art form sophisticated and creative.

Traces avoids circus clichés and instead focuses on the talents of each performer, adding in other elements to assemble a multi-faceted spectacle. 7 fingers Production, the company that created Traces, was founded in Quebec in 2002 with the specific vision of designing shows that combine the acrobatic elements of a circus with additional forms of entertainment. The performers are called “artists” instead of acrobats or jugglers or gymnasts, etc. because they present many facets of themselves during the show. For example, the artists play piano and guitar, sing, speak in other languages, and incorporate “street forms” such as skateboarding and a choreographed basketball dance (not as cheesy as it sounds).

With all these talents mixed into one show, it seems as if Traces would be disorganized and perhaps unappealing to watch, but the narrative moves smoothly between each of the seven performers getting his/her time for typical circus stunts, and the artists introducing themselves through singing, stating random facts, or even showing their baby pictures. The title Traces represents what kind of traces humans leave behind each day as they carry on with life, and it appropriately connects to the intimate feeling within the theater as the artists open up and interact honestly and comically with one another. The entire cast then performs together at the end; they swing and leap between the poles, and flip and jump across the stage at incredible heights without nets or safety wires.

Although sometimes it seems that as audience members we have “seen it all,” Traces originality sets it apart from other circus-style shows, and reveals that art forms are blending in order to create new kinds of entertainment. As a result, performers need to become more versatile, and these seven artists not only meet this challenge but also surpass it in order to elevate Traces beyond any preconceived notions.