A SPELLBINDING ALCHEMY OF SOUND AND MOTION – CIRCA AND THE LPO’S DAPHNIS AND CHLOE

By Emma Carney | Bunny Pudding · Digital Coven · @bunnyscopes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

There are performances that entertain, and then there are those that transport you—immersive, otherworldly experiences where art transcends its individual forms and becomes something entirely new. Circa’s collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe was precisely that: not just a concert, not just a circus, but a breath-taking synthesis of sound and movement that left the audience in a state of wonder. I certainly found myself gasping a few times and some of the breath-taking moves that I saw performed on the stage. The audience was asked to keep their cheers and clasps until the end of each musical piece and my goodness, it was that hard as there were many moments where I wanted to cheer in celebration of the death defying spectacle that I had just seen another perform. 

From the moment the first hushed notes of Ravel’s score shimmered through the hall, it was clear this would be no ordinary interpretation. The orchestra, under Edward Gardner’s masterful direction, conjured an atmosphere both lush and primal—swells of strings, woodwind whispers, and percussion that pulsed like a heartbeat. And then, the acrobats of Circa emerged, their bodies an extension of the music itself. They didn’t just perform to the score; they became it. A suspended aerialist spiraled like a leaf caught in a breeze during the flute’s pastoral solo; a duo’s taut, intertwined limbs mirrored the tension of Ravel’s harmonies; and the full ensemble erupted in explosive synchronicity with the ballet’s thunderous climaxes. It was blooming fabulous. 

What made this production so extraordinary was its refusal to be easily categorised. This wasn’t circus as spectacle for spectacle’s sake—it was narrative abstraction at its finest, where every backbend, every daring toss, every moment of stillness resonated with emotional depth. The performers didn’t just defy gravity; they seemed to rewrite it, their movements fluid yet precise, as if the music itself had taken human form. I was truly moved. 

The inclusion of La valse in the second half was a stroke of genius. Where Daphnis was all sun-drenched myth and sensuality, La valse twisted elegance into delirium, the orchestra’s waltz rhythms growing increasingly unhinged while Circa’s artists mirrored the descent with controlled chaos—bodies whirling, collapsing, and rebelling in a mesmerizing dance of disintegration. It was a vibe I tell thee. 

Credit must also go to the BBC Singers, whose vocals floated through Daphnis like a celestial presence, adding yet another layer of texture to this richly woven tapestry. I hadn’t had a chance to experience the BBC singers live before and I wasn’t disappointed. And behind it all, the LPO played with a combination of technical brilliance and raw passion, reminding us why Ravel’s masterpiece remains one of the most sumptuous orchestral works ever written and why I will forever be an LPO fan girl. Since my first show last I haven’t had a performance that hasn’t invigorated me and made me add a few more classical composers to my spotify play lists. 

This production was a testament to the power of interdisciplinary art—where circus meets symphony, where physicality meets poetry. It was daring, it was emotional, and above all, it was alive. By the final note, as the last acrobat descended gently to the stage, the air in the hall seemed to vibrate with the collective awe of the audience. Followed by a very enthusiastic applause that we’d been asked so graciously to keep in. 

Circa and the London Philharmonic didn’t just perform Daphnis and Chloe—they reimagined it, offering a vision of what live performance can be when boundaries are dissolved and creativity is given wings. Unforgettable. I was also particularly fond of the lighting in this show that felt very intimate and able to really capture the performers in action. Bravo. 

Daphnis and Chloe is a perfect performance if you are just starting out our LPO journey and avid fans will absolutely adore the experience. 

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A transcendent collision of music and movement.

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