Circus Apparatus
The first circus apparatus Peter designed and built was the ‘Tesseract’. It is based on the x-y-z axis of three dimensional Graphs. Years later, ‘Skyladder’ was an exploration of tensegrity structures inspired by the work of Buckminster Fuller.
As with anything creative, not every structure ends up true to the original concept. The ‘Triceau’ was originally going to be a contortion prop for ground acts. Once it was in the gym we couldn’t resist the temptation to hang it in the air and play on it. This freedom to explore gave life to one of our most popular aerial acts.
Sculptural Art
As well as new circus apparatus, Peter designs things that are part sculpture, part set design, part anything you can dream up.
One of the sculptures that the company is know for is it’s 34 ft high aluminum marionette called ‘David’. Capable of lifting aerial circus acts and interacting with audiences, this bigger than life puppet came about because Peter was challenged by BC Event Management to come up with an idea to showcase the height of Vancouver’s new convention centre.
Since creating David, Peter has made the world’s largest eagle sculpture, with a 60 ft wingspan, which had is debut flight at the Calgary Stampede Grandstand show. The following year, also for the Stampede, two twice-life-sized metal horses animated by two puppeteers , were galloped 50 ft in the air above the audience.
Most recently Peter finished two CO2 snorting aluminum dragons for the Hakkasan Nightclub in Las Vegas, which were used for their New Years Eve 2014 party.
Structures
Not all of our metal creations are extravagant life like sculptures. Many of our fabricated structures are used to address custom technical, staging and rigging needs for shows and events.
Peter custom built a tower which can be erected indoors and outdoors where no other rigging points or structures exist. This tower allows us to hang out wherever we want. (pun intended) Over the years accessories to this tower have been added such as the tower table which elevates ground based acts to a whole new level.
The Totem, designed for a themed show in Whistler, is an abstract metal rendition of a traditional totem pole which can be used as a set/decor structure or a circus apparatus for performers to climb on and interact with.
More Info
Our performances come to life through our costuming, characters and textile structures. Not to be outdone by her metal fabricating husband, Ninon expresses her own creativity through hand crafted textile structures and costuming. Much like our metal structures, our textile based inventory has been designed to meet the needs of show themes, corporate branding and aesthetic preferences.
To see more of Ninon’s creations visit:
byninon.ca
Costuming
We have a large inventory of costuming to suit the themes and aesthetics of our clients shows and events. For each event we propose options from our current inventory that fit the desired theme or look. If a specific look does not exist in our inventory we can develop something new and unique. Through a combination of store bought items and custom made pieces, Ninon puts together one of a kind looks and complete coordinated show ensembles.
From head to toe our headdresses, accessories and variety of costumes combine to transform us from everyday to circus awesome.
Props
When our textile and metal creations combine fanciful characters, staging and props come to life. The Jellies are made up of layers of fabric which cover a round metal structure that is lifted into the air. From this textile clad structure our aerial performers can hang giving the appearance that The Jellies are on the attack, floating in the air as if it were water.
The Eye Ball, while a little creepy at first glance, is a attention seeking crowd favourite. As the performers move about the space it truly feels as if the eyes are following you…sometimes because they are.
