LIVE Performance BIOGRAPHY & Highlights
Chloé Pisco has been performing, directing and teaching dance, circus and theatre for 22 years. She began performing professionally 28 years ago, and has done so all over the globe. She has been based in Ireland since 1992, with lots of links to Sweden and Australia for over a decade.
She began training circus at 3 years old in the Brussels circus school, She then worked as a professional ballet dancer for 10 years of tours in soloist / principal roles with Cork City Ballet, at the same time as secondary school.
She graduated Dance performance and teaching in NYC, (Alvin Ailey/ Fordham Uni.), as well as Highest honours for her Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing exams. At this point she transitioned to contemporary dance, African and break dance.
In 2002, she first accepted work with Daghdha Dance co, Ireland ‘s then leading and largest contemporary dance co, under Yoshiko Chuma.
She also co-founded REBUS – a live contact improvisation with voice company that created 26 shows in two years and was very well supported in funding and boasted 12 dancers and 4 directors. (IRE)
At the same time, she began leaning towards the more community-based arts. Needing to balance the exclusionary side effects of some very contemporary dance companies. So she began teaching young teenagers with violence, substance abuse and psychiatric issues, (in remand centres and targeted programs.) She then expanded to working with a wide range of marginalised youth and adults. She will never stop engaging with projects like this, as it is definitely her favourite kind of work.
In 2005, she launched “No Frontiers Dance co.” (IRE) an anti-racism dance co. that grew to boast 42 nationalities at its peak, and huge support from the Irish and European funding and commissioning bodies, over the 7 years of its existence and a long term anchor residency in one of Ireland’s national dance centres - Firkin Crane.
This included creating the Closing ceremony of the 2005 European Capital of Culture in Cork – Ireland. And directing large scale outdoor performances as civic commissions, parades and multiple interactive outdoor spectacles. 1 huge outdoor spectacle show she directed featured 600 performers, many from mobile aerial rigs and cranes and incredible costumes featuring inflatable body extensions.
From 2006, she also began working as an aerialist, performing all over Europe and eventually the world.
She launched the “Flying dance company” (IRE) in 2008 and has always had a focus on creativity in a demonstrative trick heavy sector. She focused more on the tools for new movement vocabulary creation and expression of the human experience.
Pisco trains trainers, professionals, children and a huge variety of marginalised communities : sharing her techniques, (adapted from the amazing teachers she has been truly privileged to learn from), both physical and creative.
She has a hunger and passion for the inner workings, motivations and intentions behind the human physiology in motion and our need to share the human experience and express ourselves through it.
She nourishes this by sourcing local inspiration and artistic innovators to learn from, almost everywhere she roams.
From 2001 to 2012 her work was supported and funded by many sources: by city, county, national and European funding bodies as well as a fairly constant stream of commissions.
In 2012, Pisco accepted a job in Western Australia for three weeks - she fell in love with everything about this land and kept getting offered jobs. She worked with C!RCA contemporary circus, for a year, creating full length shows for their professional Youth performance troupe C!RCA ZOO. She has also worked at NICA, Circus OZ, Vulcana, Spaghetti Circus, Circus Arts Byron Bay and many many more companies and schools around Australia.
2012 - From here on in she has been travelling lots - Directing freelance, performing and writing her creative practice as a full time course. Not running a company with full time dancers or managing a space, freed her up to get even more done.
This is when she created the first OXYTOCIN PROJECT, by writing the first versions of her paper:
"The Oxytociniergic solutions for human systems and creative applicability.."
Please see BIG IDEAS page for a synopsis of the newest version of the paper.
"The Oxytocin Show" as part of the the larger Oxytocin project - a look at the neurology and chemistry of empathy and compassion.
A show ever in the research stages, that was adapted from the paper Pisco wrote - explaining the correlation between our varying propensities for oxytocin production in different environments / contexts, (including the patriarchy, capitalism, empires and much more.)
She is more excited about this than she has ever been about anything.
Oxytocin is our main empathy, compassion, trust, bonding, connection, awe gratitude and love hormone.
The theories and interlinking observations in the paper are based on years of study and research she has done into the even broader range of studies carried by a multitude of doctors/ researchers /professors at a long list of top reputable universities. Please see references attached to papers.
In 2019, She began teaching at "DOCH school of circus and dance" at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden.
As well as researching for her Masters in Contemporary Circus at the same university. The final graduation show for this was part of the Oxytocin project as "Save the 5 % Empathy for psychopaths" in February 2020.
This was an in depth dive into creation and research with oxytocin at the centre of the work, as well as at the core of it's reception. It featured 10 performers all working with their true stories. it also featured a fully blindfolded audience experiencing the whales she filmed in Tonga as huge projections on the walls, and realising all their heart beats had synchronised.
And as a bonus, she is proving that art makes us more empathic - on a neurochemical level.
Arts funding bodies around the globe, would surely be very keen to have her achieve this part.
We all knew art made the world a better place.
- In 2017 and 2018 Chloé also developed a work called "CETACEA SENSORIUM - Dances with whales "an underwater dance of non verbal communication with wild Humpback whales.
She has danced underwater in Exmouth, Fraser island and Tonga. The whales danced back. This performative aerial harness and film work has been shared live twice in development. Incl. at LEGS on the WALL, Sydney in August 2018.
In 2019 she began lecturing on unconscious bias, oxytocin in her art practice and in the arts overall as well as on gender and diversity issues in circus. Including in Helsinki, Circa Auch festival and the CNAC (FR.)
in 2020, She was appointed the new head of the now GLOBAL WOMEN IN CIRCUS NETWORK.
WEBSITE HERE: WOMEN IN CIRCUS NETWORK
Image below – Stunt fall work for Music video for Sigur Ror – Varoeldur. Full film CLICK HERE here.
HER ARTISTIC PRACTICE and further career highlights
Her practice is hugeIy lead by large scale scientific concepts, reflecting back into our own personal individual experiences of connection. The macro reflected in the micro.
She explores these big ideas through her research in a literal way and finds live demonstrative ways in which to prove them through artistic interactions.
Using artistic expression, careful development and crafting of ideas - as a vessel to convey these concepts.
Usually ending up as immersive physical theatre work and equally very hands on multi sensory experiences for her audiences.
Example:
In August 2018 during the performance of the wall running piece CETACEA SENSORIUM 1.0 at Legs on the Wall, Sydney.
The audience laid on the floor mats and they watched her dance in a harness, live. On top the film of her dancing with whales in Australian waters.
She then proceeded to show every single person in that room, that they had all synchronised not only to each others exact heart beat rhythms (!) But additionally, to the whale song on top of Hans Zimmer's extraordinary score which she intertwined with the mammalian opera, (previously recorded live from "Migaloo", the famous "white" whale from Australia's east coast waters.)
She has also studied clown in depth – as part of the Native American clowning tradition of mask work – with Canadian mentor Sue Morrison. Her teachings passed on from Native American traditions- confirmed for Chloé what she already felt was the clear role of art in our society: it is Art is a sacred duty ... “TO SHOW THE TRIBE a TRUTH THEY NEED TO SEE.”
Relevant Highlights of Chloé Pisco's career:
2017 The Australian department of Culture and the Arts funded her to write and deliver a creative intensive on creation tools for and to professionals.
She chose ten top applicants and spent three months delivering the information. She gathered together over 400 creation tools she have made or learned and used; focussing on the top 40 to share. It resulted in a spectacular showcase performance: FLIGHT RISK.
She has created work for and / or performed works for:
Batsheva dance company, original Australian peoples of Gathaagudu region of WA, C!RCA Zoo, William Forsythe, Casus circus, Marrugeku, Adrian Swartzstein (Spain), Luminous (Aus), Vulcana women's circus, Hoopla Clique, Spaghetti circus, Woodford folk festival, Glastonburry festival, remote aboriginal community of Burringurah (WA), Byron Bay Circus arts Ensemble, LEFT show, Lucent Dossier Experience (L.A.), the European Aerial dance festival, (Brighton / Ireland / France), the European Juggling convention, Macnas (Ireland) and many many many more...
Music bands she has performed with live or performed in music videos for: Madness, Sigur Ros, Kraftwerk, Groove Armada, The Undertones and more
She have performed stunt fall and stunt fight sequences for full length feature films. As well as acted professionally numerous times on film.
She loves research, creation, inquest and learning most of all... and sharing that through directing and training others...
In the last years she has undertaken research, repertoire and choreographic creation labs with:
Roberto Olivan (BCN), Francois Julliot (FR), Marrugeku, Force Majeure, FLOWN - Pirates of the Carabina, Dance North, Bangarra, Stalker, Firenza Guidi of NoFit State circus.
In October 2015 she co-ordinated the designing and building of two huge counterweighting systems at Circus Arts Australia - Byron Bay, (while head trainer and performance director there), collaborating with the unsurpassed Barnz Munn and Shaena Brandel both of "NoFit State Circus" and "Pirates of the Carabina". Then going on to create her Show NO EXCUSES on the new systems, with in depth stories and complex narratives.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Aug- Sept 17’ – Performance after 3 weeks Research, creative development, filming; non verbal communication with actual wild whales underwater through dance and song – resulting in the performance of a new vertical dance harness and projection work: “CETACEA SENSORIUM” as part of the launch of the Ningaloo Centre, for marine research and culture, (Exmouth WA.)
Jan 17’ – Marrugeku co. Buurbgaja Yalirra project (Dancing Forwards), for Sydney festival’s Carriageworks programme – a deep exploration through multi cultural dance, identity and imagination of the personal stories of 13 artists - with choreographer Koen Augustijnen (of Les Ballet C de la B.) (Sydney NSW)
Nov 16’ – Performed a group experiential street theatre show under the model and guidance of KAMCHATKA (Barcelona), an incredible work about migration and common human compassion.
Aug 16' - "Phaedra" the Greek myth by dance co. CoOperativa Maura Morales. Aerial choreography guest collaborator plus theatrical and dance outside eye. (And aerial safety consultancy.) Showcased at TANZmesse, Dusseldorf. (GER)
July 16 ‘ – Choreography for a duo high wire show, “Equilibrius”, about love, 15 metres up, on the incredible BULLZINI family co. - Glastonbury fest (UK)
April / May / June 16’- Creating and directing Flight Risk- the show. A three month aerial dance, physical theatre and contemporary circus project that included me creating and delivering process focused research, into creative tools for new movement language creation. Especially focusing on wall running and vertical dance. Ending in a presentation to the industry, benefactors and the Department of Culture and the ARTs funders for a stage one development showing, co -produced by Disco Cantito (WA)
May 16’ – Performed excerpts of WILLIAM FORSYTHE’S - One Flat thing Reproduced in Perth under the direction of Ayman Harper.(WA)
Feb 16’- Performed excerpts of BATSHEVA DANCE CO. and OHAD NAHARIN’s DECADANCE, under the direction of Rachael Osbourne and Guy Shomroni, a project run by strut dance and held at the State Theatre of WA, Perth.(WA)
January 15’ - Directing CLING at the Western Australian Circus Festival.
A show on a 101 metre long highwire (12 metres up): with aerialists and dancers performing at the same time from and ontop of this highwire.
Incl. Contemporary Dance, Tango string, Highwire acrobatics, aerial Rope, Lyra, Chinese Pole, handstands and tumble.
Dec 14’ - Performing the Title Role of “Call me Maria “ a 90 minute physical theatre show in Spanish retelling a powerful story of 1950s Barcelona, written and directed by Adrian Swartzstein and Sergei Estebanell, (Basque Country, Spain.)
July 14’ - Creative development and performance for Croi Glan integrated dance company new show. (IRE)
We wish to acknowledge the Butchulla people, the Yugambeh people, the clans that make up the Bundjalung Nations, the Turrbal and Yaggera people, as original custodians of the lands and seas where we often work.
Places where stories, culture and art have been made and shared for millennia. Recognising their ancestors, as well as past, current and future elders; whose sovereign country was never ceded.
Australia always was, and always will be, aboriginal land.
We wish to acknowledge the Butchulla people, the Yugambeh people, the clans that make up the Bundjalung Nations, the Turrbal and Yaggera people, as original custodians of the lands and seas where we often work.
Places where stories, culture and art have been made and shared for millennia. Recognising their ancestors, as well as past, current and future elders; whose sovereign country was never ceded.
Australia always was, and always will be, aboriginal land.