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28 July 2022
Creators, Festival News

It’s raining stars for BITBYBIT

If there is one circus show that has received incredible critical acclaim it is BITBYBIT by MOVEDBYMATTER and Collectif Malunés. An absolute Must See in our opinion. Therefore, we are pleased and proud to welcome the two inseparable brothers (Simon and Vincent Bruyninckx of Collectif Malunés) to Festival Circolo 2022. We have collected some wonderful descriptions and compliments from various reviews:

“Bitbybit is a very spectacular and exciting, but also a tender circus duet.” De Standaard ****

“Your mouth drops open in amazement when you see what the iron jaws of brothers Simon and Vincent Bruyninckx are capable of. Moreover, from their arts an intimate history bubbles up without words.” Pieter T’Jonk I PZAZZ

“Toothpicking dates back to traditional circus and is rarely performed today because of its spectacular nature. In BITBYBIT the ancient technique is revitalized in a contemporary circus context.” ETCETERA magazine for performing arts

In Circusmagazine #66 Simon and Vincent Bruyninckx and Kasper Vandenberghe elaborate on the bit and Jaw of Steel;

The bit of ‘iron jaw’

The bit or “iron jaw” is traditionally a circus act in the air. A performer has himself hoisted into the air on a cable or trapeze, supported only by the mouthpiece he or she clamps between his or her teeth. By moving the arms, the performer can spin around faster or slower. Human Buttery, that’s also how the act was called. But it is also known as a strength technique, in which performers with a “mouth of steel” lift cars, or pull a bus or a train. In our collective memory, of course, the dental acrobat John Massis pops up.

 

How does that bit feel in your mouth? How do you find the right fit?

Simon: “It has taken us almost a year now to endure the mouthpiece. It’s had many different forms.”
Kasper: “They make them themselves, handcrafted.”
Vincent: ” It’s a silicone boxing bit, perfectly to the shape of our mouth. Now the forces are spread over each tooth.”

Movedbymatter

Does it hurt?

Simon: “Yes. All the little muscles around your mouth tighten up. But it does get better. The ease of doing something you’ve always done, like in my case the bascule, is gone. You don’t have much technique to fall back on yet. I think we’re still just young enough. In five years, I don’t think our bodies would accept it anymore.”
Vincent: “It’s really draining, sadomasochistic almost. I really look forward to hanging on to it, because you know what feeling you’re in for: a headache, from all the muscles that attach to your skull.”
Simon: “Sometimes you think you’re ready to go up, but then when it’s pulled you think of ‘no, stop, stop.’ You’re just scared.”

And frighten your teeth?

Simon: “No. Allez, yes, we pay close attention to it, we have it checked by a dentist, to make sure there are no cracks. She said, ‘I certainly wouldn’t do it, but bon, I shouldn’t tell you that.'”
Vincent: “She said ‘don’t do it too long.'”
Simon: “‘Stop after this creation’.”
Vincent: “It’s intense and dangerous for the neck, I feel.”
Simon: “But it’s blissful not to have to jump a bascule. To find the fun in it again.”
Kasper: “That also puts them on equal footing. They are both starting from scratch.”

 

BITBYBIT can be seen at Festival Circolo in the Spoorpark from October 21 to 23.

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