Roots in the sky. An analysis of tightrope walker, a figure between performing arts and educational experiences

This project, both theoretical and empirical, wants to investigate the possible pedagogical elements within the art of tightrope walking - a psychophysical activity of discipline particularly representative of some crucial elements in human development - interconnecting the pedagogy of the imagination (Durand 1963; Bachelard 1960) and circus performing arts (Turner 1986; Grotowski 1968; Fischer-Lichte 2004; Petit 2014 ).Following the analysis of literature and my personal experience in this field [I have been a circus educator for years], I will investigate the implicit elements inherent to tightrope walking practice and its possible contributions to the field of education and training. Tracing those authors who elected the play as a symbol of the world (Fink 1957), a peculiar and sacred place of being (Huizinga 1938), tightrope walking art can be observed as a “useless” performance.The tightrope walker’ pace so essential, beautiful and precarious, needs us to adhere to new rules in order to enter a new time and a new space different from the ordinary ones, the same thing that happens while playing, an activity which limits and frees, fascinates and enchants the participants. The tightrope walker’s discipline is able to rule over mind, making it actual in order to create a transformed body (Stanislavskji 1937), glorious (Grotowski 1970), a body of the art which needs authenticity and a live participation. During the performing act the performer’s body renews itself and “occurs”, causing a deep change even on audience’s usual posing which is no more frontal and controlling, on the contrary it becomes open to the unexpected and unknown. In order to prove this I will use different interwoven points of view: The Performer and Audience’s point of view reported through semi-structured interviews/participant observation/questionnaire for the audience. The artistic Director’s point of view reported through semi-structured interviews/shadowing/ photographic documents/videos. The Trainer and Trainees’ point of view reported trough semi-structured interviews/ participant observation/ photographic documents/videos. The main aim is to investigate human development as an incessant, necessary and essential research of balance - pedagogy as a research of balance (Jousse 1974), where the symbol is the element able to restore the vital balance (Durand 1963) - as a consequence learning becomes an ethical transformation through aesthetic events (Fischer-Lichte 2014). The research of balance can be found in the process itself, as a creative force between educational practice and pedagogic theory, looking at the phenomenological-hermeneutical method (van Manen 1990) as a possible point of view on the data and finally the tightrope will be the symbolic link between scientific rigour and a new opening to the new and the unexpected.