ES – sweetly disturbing is an ode to the strength needed to reflect in the abyss and become aware of what it means to be human. We talk about cracks in the mind, body and soul, about the resilience and the strength needed to accept who we are, observe our wounds, recognise them and live with them.

This performance speaks about neurodiversity by questioning the boundary between personality and disorder, we play with the limits of the disturbance with sarcasm and a dash of illusionism. The main objective of ES is to recreate a universe in which the rules of perception are not the ordinary ones. We push the audience to question the essence of being human. We work with the concept of disturbance and through images and sound we play with limits, (ours and the audience’s ones). We encourage the audience to think about their boundaries and definition of disturbance.

What at first seems too harsh and disturbing became acceptable and even poetic, if not sweet. We live torn between the desire for freedom and the desire to be able to define ourselves, to recognise ourselves in something.

The body moves and breaks down to the rhythm of shattering glass and dripping water.

The information is disjointed, like tangled memories; there is no linearity of events, no chronology.

The sound universe is created on stage using sounds taken live from the scene and from the materials of the water and glass fragments. These sounds, taken, processed and edited, sometimes in combination with other previously recorded samples, create the soundtrack of ES. The stage is our instrument. We work on the dissonance between sound and stage action, playing with the audience's visual and auditory perception to make them doubt reality. To these discordant and welcoming sounds we add the use of the voice, which is present like a litany, a broken record, a shattered memory that is sought and sustained, a symbol of a delicate and strong resilience.

We accompany the audience into a mental world where the connections between sound and matter are fluid and where metaphors take concrete form, together we descend into a mind that walks on its own shards of glass, in the eternal struggle to make sense of life, to accept and love oneself, seeking the answer to the fundamental question: Who am I?

This performance is inspired by C8H11NO2 created in 2010 by the company Room 100, and is co-produced by The Sphere with support from Creative Europe.

ABOUT THE ARTIST After dedicating her life to gymnastics, Cecilia Manfrini developed a passion for circus art, graduating from the Academy of Circus and Performance Art (ACAPA) in 2011, specializing in Flying Rope and Acrodance. As a founder and co-founder of various circus companies, including Cie. Kimera, Les Mantis, and I Miracolucci, Cecilia has worked globally in diverse venues. Her journey led her to study dance in Brussels and the martial art Kalarippayattu in Kerala, India, in 2013. Despite facing challenges as a circus artist, including becoming a single mother in 2015 and experiencing three accidents between 2016 and 2022, Cecilia remains dedicated to circus and performance art as a means of digesting and expressing life's experiences. She eagerly embraces the challenge of creating a new iteration of C8H11NO2, named ES, in collaboration with the circus artist Aivjà Pezza, under the circus company name Cie. Kimera. ES is set to debut in Autumn 2026.

CREDITS Collaboration with: Aivjà Pezza, circus artist and musician in the piece Video Maker: Urban Fakir Films Light technicians: Paolo Danesi and Guillermo Leoni Costume designer: Arianna Mariel Razzini Psychodynamic creation consultant: Alberto Giorni Sound Dramaturgy/Vocal Consultant: Nicoletta Magalotti and NicoNote External eye: Philine Dahlmann Supported by: The Sphere, Cordata For, EsactoLido, La Grainerie, Antitesi Teatro, L’Obrador

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Medium: Fakirism, hand and head balancing, acrobatics, dance, and sound manipulation. Materials: bodies, voice, microphones, shattered glass, lights, and audio cables. Length: 50’ Year: 2026