‘It’s pure anatomy’: Performers form complex human sculptures in ‘Bodies in Urban Spaces’

They squeeze into ridiculously narrow openings, pile on top of each other in complex human sculptures, cantilever off bike racks and railings, perch perilously on apartment balconies, coil themselves around lampposts, cascade down stairways and generally contort their bodies in ways you most definitely should not attempt at home.

And why? All in the cause of a street performance event called “Bodies in Urban Spaces.” It lands in Toronto for the first time this week. It’s part of the Bentway’s 2022 season, STREET, described as “a summer of public art, featuring installations, performance and interchange.”

The audience is guided on a brisk walk through a predetermined route where they may pause to observe clusters of performers self-costumed in brightly coloured sweats and hoodies reshaping the urban landscape with their full-bodied interventions. It’s fun but also instructive. It reminds us how easy it is to overlook details of our built environment, to forget that it’s there to serve human needs, not the reverse.

Seeing bodies frozen in unfamiliar poses in improbable places also draws attention to the variety of scale, texture and architectural style — or lack of — to be found in the urban environment.

“Bodies in Urban Spaces” is the brainchild of 62-year-old multidisciplinary Austrian artist Willi Dorner. He originated this globe-trotting event in 2007 in the hope of awakening a fresh appreciation for the urban environment. Dorner sees it as a means to reimagine and repurpose the structures and spaces around us.

Dorner rarely travels to stage the event these days, entrusting the task to his able assistant Esther Baio. She flew in from Vienna last November to hold auditions for the locally selected cast of 20. The call audition listed the types of performance training require: “circus, physical theatre, breaking, contemporary, contact improv and parkour.”

Baio also surveyed the neighbourhood surrounding the Bentway’s Fort York Boulevard headquarters during her fall visit to map a tentative route. She’s been back for the past week for an intense period of rehearsal that culminated Wednesday night with a full-dress run-through for the benefit of media, Bentway staff and a small army of volunteer guides. Puzzled passersby occasionally tagged along.

“Bodies in Urban Spaces” places extreme, even potentially dangerous physical demands on its performers so the Bentway has wisely engaged a paramedic to attend every show … just in case. On Wednesday evening, the paramedic, hauling a cart packed with emergency medical equipment, watched closely as a couple of performers appeared to be having trouble unlocking from the position they’d been holding for several minutes. All was well, just a bit of muscle cramping.

Cast member Liisa Smith said the rehearsal period was very focused. “Esther basically just showed us the shapes she wanted and you had to be ready to go for it.”

“It’s pure anatomy,” said Bradley Eng, whose robust strength meant he often found himself at the bottom of a pile of bodies. Eng said the biggest physical challenge is holding unnatural positions for extended periods. It could be as long as six minutes if there’s a large crowd wanting a chance to see it.

“You run from one spot to the next and then you freeze in some crazy position,” said Eng. “But it’s fun, the group is great and so is the money.”

Baio said the Toronto cast has really risen to the challenge. “The performers must learn to depend on each other. They’ve been a great group. You could say they’ve bonded physically and mentally.”

Some practical notes: the route will remain a secret except to those who register to attend online with the Bentway. It’s free, but capacity is limited to a maximum of 175 people. Attendees will be told the start location by email 24 hours before their chosen performance. The route is roughly three kilometres, all on paved land. The event is expected to take about an hour and will not necessarily end where it began.

It’s a street performance so don’t expect convenient access to washrooms. Also, the weather forecast for Thursday and Friday suggests that taking protective wear and/or an umbrella might be prudent.

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