MERMEJITA CIRCUS - CONTRAPESO
How much do those red heels weigh?
How much does the land where I was born weigh?
How much does identity, confinement, freedom weigh?
Contrapeso proposes to go through a journey experimenting with different materialities in relation to weight and lightness, reflecting on possible balances and (im)balances between the socio-political conditions that determine us and the power of movement.
How to organize our existence, our relationships, our past, our present, our sensible world in such a way that imbalance becomes resistance?
How to generate counterweight strategies that function as support and transformation devices.
Data sheet
Dramaturgy and direction: Ingrid Esperanza and Mariana Blanco
Choreographer: Yuridia Ortega
On stage: Nicolás Sandoval and Mariana Blanco
Video art creators: Andrea Aguilar and Ezequiel Altamirano
Voices: Andrea Aguilar, Ezequiel Altamirano, Mariana Blanco, Yuridia Ortega, Ingrid Esperanza, Juanajara and Nicolás Sandoval
Musical composition: Juan Yanajara and Jesús Cuevas
Scenic design and lights: Leticia Martinez
Visual creators: Alfonsa Cruz and Fortunata Cruz
Recording, design and audiovisual production: Andrea Aguilar and Ezequiel Altamirano
Graphic design: Sebastián Laenz and Diana María Sanchez
Executive Producer: Virginia Caputi / TreintaTreinta
General production: Mermejita
Acknowledgments: To the System of Creation and Cultural Projects (SACPC) the stimulus provided for the realization of this event.
Counterweight — A Contemporary Circus Performance and the Poetics of Balance
Counterweight is a contemporary circus piece co-produced by 3030 Producciones and Mermejita Circus (Mexico), presented in August 2022 at the Zavala Muñiz Hall of the Solís Theatre. The piece proposes a theatrical investigation into balance: physical, relational, and social. Through acrobatics, partner work, visual composition, and sound design, Counterweight articulates images of tension and suspension that invite the viewer to consider movement as a metaphor for conflicts and collective agreements. The production combines technical virtuosity with austere aesthetic choices: objects such as counterweights, mobile structures, and plays of light and shadow construct a stage landscape where gravity becomes both theme and language. The result is a performance designed for both specialized venues and festival programs: visually powerful, carefully crafted in its dramaturgy, and accessible in its symbolic interpretation. In addition to performances, Counterweight included residency programs and workshops that fostered exchange between companies and provided training for local performers. Its structure allowed for technical adaptations for different venues and circuits, facilitating its circulation at festivals and seasons. If you are a programmer, curator, or cultural manager and would like to include Counterweight in your programming, 3030 Producciones offers a complete technical dossier, audiovisual materials, contract terms, and associated training opportunities (clinics and workshops). Contact us to inquire about availability, technical specifications, and pricing. Contrapeso — a proposal about risk, measure, and relationship: contemporary circus that considers technique as thought.