Ancrage by SenCirck at LPAC

Ancrage by SenCirck (Senegal)

Wednesday, Sept 3rd from 7pm-8pm

Location: Main Stage Theater, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, 31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101

Presented by DOWN to EARTH International Festivalof Multidisciplinary Performance in Public Spaces.

Elena Siyanko, Festival Director & Executive Producer;

Frank Hentschker, Festival Director

In ANCRAGE ("anchoring"), a man awakens and encounters an alien being. Performed by two acrobats, Modou Fata Touré and Ibrahima Camara, they measure, observe and confront each other, then mutually tame each other. When they find their anchorage, a world arises where nature and man merge, take root in each other, and harmony is created. Modou Fata Touré questions Europe and Africa: What if contemporary circus was not only European, and what if African circus was not exclusively traditional? Through ANCRAGE, Modou and Ibrahima reclaim the circus's African identity. The local materials of Senegal—bags of rice, traditional brooms, wooden ladders—join raw materials like earth, sand, aluminum, and straw. SenCirk's unique approach shares personal stories that West Africans—and others—can relate to, from clandestine migration to Europe to the experience of living as a talibé runaway.

ABOUT SENCIRKFounded in 2009 by Modou Fata Touré, SenCirk is Senegal's first circus organization, encompassing a company, school, and performance tent. Touré, who as a teenager discovered circus arts at Sweden's Cirkus Cirkör, transformed himself from a child beggar to a leading figure in contemporary African circus. Rather than pursuing a career in Europe, he returned home to establish SenCirk, which uniquely blends traditional Senegalese culture with contemporary circus arts. The company employs a dozen professional artists from diverse backgrounds and provides free workshops at shelters for street children and women. SenCirk maintains its African identity by crafting equipment from local materials and training future circus professionals while supporting children in need throughout Dakar.

ABOUT DOWN TO EARTH

DOWN TO EARTH Festival Director and Executive Producer: Elena Siyanko

DOWN TO EARTH Festival Director: Frank Hentschker

Producer and Associate Director of Programs, Segal Center: Meg Araneo

Producer: Natalie Rine

DOWN TO EARTH, NYC’s First International Festival of Multidisciplinary Creation in Public Spaces, brings world-class international performance, theater, contemporary circus, opera installation, and participatory events—absolutely free—directly to New York City’s vibrant, diverse communities. An initiative that embraces global exchange and democratizes cultural expression, the inaugural festival runs from August 29–September 7, 2025. The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The Graduate Center CUNY serves as the festival's producer, organizational and curatorial home, and fiscal agent.

Here in NYC, partnering with parks in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens and collaborating with more than 10 dynamic cultural and community organizations, we’re staging performances and workshops across multiple urban spaces. Citizen expression beats at the heart of the festival’s artistic vision. DOWN TO EARTH affirms art’s critical role in the economic, social, and mental well-being of all New Yorkers. With a focus on how artistic presence transforms the experience of place, and the powerful role of outdoor creation in transforming communities and spaces, DOWN TO EARTH seeks to expand access to cultural expression, privilege public assembly, and combat the injustices inherent in socio-economic exclusion. Central to the festival's mission is our commitment to dismantling cultural barriers by offering free programs for students, youth, immigrant communities, and families. By attracting a diverse public to free outdoor arts and in-situ performances that are accessible and inviting, the festival will redress the shortcomings of an expensive system of cultural dissemination. Downtoearthfestival.org

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