Tatiana-Mosio Bongonga, who was introduced to acrobatics as a child, set a record a few months ago when she walked 80 metres above the ground, with no safety line, in front of 9,000 people in southern France. “Fear and adrenaline aren’t what drive me. When I walk, I’m in a state of deep concentration, almost meditation,” she says.
She and Jan Naets, the company’s co-founder and technical director, are now bringing their show ‘Soka Tira Osoa’ to Cyprus. Naets is responsible for rigging the complex lines for the company’s spectacular aerial walks. The show combines acrobatics, live music and an audience that takes an active part.
Where did the idea for ‘Soka Tira Osoa’ come from?
The show takes its name from a Basque rope-pulling game. It grew out of a wish to show how much beauty and meaning people can create when they work as a team. We wanted to highlight how the members of a group depend on one another, and the strength that binds people when they work together. The audience starts out as witnesses and then become the main players, helping to build a structure that keeps a group in balance.
Why did you decide to make the audience an active part of the show?
The audience is in our DNA. Most of our shows are participatory. What matters most to us is bringing people together and creating bonds. The show is really just a pretext for something bigger, something people will remember.
With no safety line or harness, it must be an especially intense moment for the audience…
Tatiana: In this show I walk 4.5 metres above the ground. I’m quite close to the audience, and conditions are far easier for me than at 100 metres, where the wind can throw me off balance. Fear and adrenaline aren’t what drive me. When I walk, I’m in a state of deep concentration, almost meditation. I move with a swaying step, and when I feel at ease I dance and do tricks.
I want to show that with hard work and training, anything is possible. I’d like to get across the idea that pushing past our limits and chasing our dreams are open to everyone, and I hope that can inspire people. They’re within reach because we’re never alone in making them happen. We have to learn to connect with others and not be afraid of them. I’m not alone either. Our shows are a team effort, and everyone shares responsibility for their success. There’s no such thing as a superstar tightrope walker.
What goes through your mind when you step on to the wire?
Tatiana: Intense concentration, but also a sense of being in my element, especially very high up. I’m relaxed. I know I’m where I belong, and I know the Basinga team is there, making sure everything is secure.
How do you prepare, physically and mentally, for a moment like that?
Tatiana: I train almost every day. A physiotherapist keeps an eye on me, and I do strength training to keep my body strong and toned, because the balancing pole weighs 13 kilos. On the mental side, I’ve developed my own techniques. I recently qualified as a mental coach, too, and that’s now part of the toolkit I use in the masterclasses I give to circus professionals and in team-building sessions with companies.
You recently set a record walking 80 metres above the ground in front of 9,000 people. How did it feel?
Tatiana: It gave me goosebumps, because the wind had stopped me completing the full walk in rehearsals. It was also the first time I’d been that high, so some nerves were only natural. But I knew I was ready, that the team had confidence and that the weather was good that day. I would never rush headlong into something dangerous.
What I take away from it is the memory of a great human adventure. More than a hundred volunteers steadied the 400 metres of line along the whole route, helped carry the equipment to the top of the artificial hills and played in the orchestra led by our musicians. It was very powerful.
And what’s next for you?
Jan: We don’t have set goals so much as dreams we’d like to make come true, and they’re not necessarily about performance. We’d love to walk a line between two cliffs, and to perform in Africa, combining tightrope workshops with meetings with local musicians to create a show that brings our cultures together.
Here’s a question you’ve probably heard many times: aren’t you afraid?
Tatiana: Yes, and thank goodness! Fear is a good warning sign. I’m human. If I’m afraid before I step on to the wire, it means either I’m not mentally ready or the conditions are tipping me from controlled risk into danger. You have to know how to listen to yourself.
INFO: Basinga perform ‘Soka Tira Osoa’ as part of the ArtCargo Performing Arts Festival on 24 October at 8pm in Nicosia’s old town.
