Over 30 productions and 25 years later, Gandini Juggling is creating some of the most vibrant and challenging performance pieces in the world.
Here is what the press have to say:
'AT THE FOREFRONT OF BRITISH CIRCUS' QUIET REVOLUTION'
The Guardian
The Artistic Directors
Artistic Vision
Gandini Juggling has an insatiable thirst for making juggling pieces; a fiery desire to collaborate, communicate and provoke. They aim to reposition juggling as a versatile, engaging and malleable art form for our times, engaging in a complex dialogue with the audience, assuming a mutual maturity and imbuing the viewer with a questioning intelligence.
The company creates pieces which are never still, never sedentary and which demand the viewers’ engagement - with an aim to explore new artistic possibilities, allow insights, stimulate imaginations. The Gandini's journeys have always been countercurrent, an individual voice in the global circus scene, with quotidian risk-taking and fearless upturns.
Sean Gandini
Sean Gandini is one of the pioneers of contemporary juggling. Working as a performer, choreographer and director he has, for over 25 years, pushed the boundaries of juggling as a discipline and as an art form.
Growing-up in Havana, Cuba, Sean was fascinated by Magic and Mathematics, but at the age of 16 he began juggling, prompting a life-long fascination with all aspects of the art form. Sean’s professional career began in the 1980s, regularly performing in London’s famous Covent Garden and touring with various theatre companies – including the pioneering Ra-Ra Zoo. In 1991, with Kati Ylä-Hokkala, he co-founded Gandini Juggling and together they have been at the forefront of experiments into what juggling is and what juggling can be.
Sean is a prolific creator. Whether working with the technicality of ‘pure’ juggling, crafting spectacular street art shows, or exploring the ways juggling might blend with other art forms, Sean is guided by a natural curiosity and delight in the myriad possibilities of throwing objects into the air.
This has led to the creation to a diverse array of shows, including the playful Sweet Life; the fiendishly complex celebration of the London Olympics Twenty/Twenty; and their smash hit, the darkly humorous and theatrical homage to Pina Bausch Smashed.
Throughout his career he has collaborated with many other acclaimed artists, including pioneering American musician Tom Johnson and the influential British choreographer Gill Clarke. More recently Sean has collaborated with choreographer Ludovic Ondiviela to create the ground-breaking juggling ballet 4 x 4 (Ephemeral Architectures), set to original music by Nimrod Borenstein. In 2016 Sean worked as juggling choreographer on English National Opera’s acclaimed production of Philip Glass’ opera Akhnaten. Sean regularly teaches in many of the world’s leading Circus Schools, inspiring the next generation of jugglers.
Kati Ylä-Hokkala
Kati Ylä-Hokkala is one of her generation’s iconic jugglers. As a co-founder of Gandini Juggling she has built a reputation not only as a highly-skilled technical juggler but is also renowned as one of the leading innovators in dance-juggling.
Kati’s professional career began in the 1990’s, performing with the influential Ra-Ra Zoo. In 1991, with Sean, she co-founded Gandini Juggling. Since then she has been instrumental in the company’s experiments into the possibilities of juggling, including working to create unique ‘two-person sharing' juggling patterns.
A former rhythmic gymnast, Kati’s distinctive ability to combine movement with extremely complex coordination is second-to-none. In this she has crafted an intimate and extensive knowledge of the relationship between dance and juggling. Knowledge that has ensured that Gandini Juggling’s work is always of the highest technical standard. Kati’s own performances are always accompanied by a unique calm precision, a precision that comes from decades of throwing whilst standing on one leg. Kati has used this same calm precision to steer Gandini Juggling for the past 25 years.
Kati has performed in all of Gandini Juggling’s works since 1991, performing in over 2,500 shows throughout the world – in art galleries and palaces, in town squares and in stadiums, in intimate theatres and on the stages of some of the world’s most iconic venues. In recent years Kati has co-directed many of the company’s pieces.
Gandini Juggling has an insatiable thirst for making juggling pieces; a fiery desire to collaborate, communicate and provoke. They aim to reposition juggling as a versatile, engaging and malleable art form for our times, engaging in a complex dialogue with the audience, assuming a mutual maturity and imbuing the viewer with a questioning intelligence.
The company creates pieces which are never still, never sedentary and which demand the viewers’ engagement - with an aim to explore new artistic possibilities, allow insights, stimulate imaginations. The Gandini's journeys have always been countercurrent, an individual voice in the global circus scene, with quotidian risk-taking and fearless upturns.
Sean Gandini
Sean Gandini is one of the pioneers of contemporary juggling. Working as a performer, choreographer and director he has, for over 25 years, pushed the boundaries of juggling as a discipline and as an art form.
Growing-up in Havana, Cuba, Sean was fascinated by Magic and Mathematics, but at the age of 16 he began juggling, prompting a life-long fascination with all aspects of the art form. Sean’s professional career began in the 1980s, regularly performing in London’s famous Covent Garden and touring with various theatre companies – including the pioneering Ra-Ra Zoo. In 1991, with Kati Ylä-Hokkala, he co-founded Gandini Juggling and together they have been at the forefront of experiments into what juggling is and what juggling can be.
Sean is a prolific creator. Whether working with the technicality of ‘pure’ juggling, crafting spectacular street art shows, or exploring the ways juggling might blend with other art forms, Sean is guided by a natural curiosity and delight in the myriad possibilities of throwing objects into the air.
This has led to the creation to a diverse array of shows, including the playful Sweet Life; the fiendishly complex celebration of the London Olympics Twenty/Twenty; and their smash hit, the darkly humorous and theatrical homage to Pina Bausch Smashed.
Throughout his career he has collaborated with many other acclaimed artists, including pioneering American musician Tom Johnson and the influential British choreographer Gill Clarke. More recently Sean has collaborated with choreographer Ludovic Ondiviela to create the ground-breaking juggling ballet 4 x 4 (Ephemeral Architectures), set to original music by Nimrod Borenstein. In 2016 Sean worked as juggling choreographer on English National Opera’s acclaimed production of Philip Glass’ opera Akhnaten. Sean regularly teaches in many of the world’s leading Circus Schools, inspiring the next generation of jugglers.
Kati Ylä-Hokkala
Kati Ylä-Hokkala is one of her generation’s iconic jugglers. As a co-founder of Gandini Juggling she has built a reputation not only as a highly-skilled technical juggler but is also renowned as one of the leading innovators in dance-juggling.
Kati’s professional career began in the 1990’s, performing with the influential Ra-Ra Zoo. In 1991, with Sean, she co-founded Gandini Juggling. Since then she has been instrumental in the company’s experiments into the possibilities of juggling, including working to create unique ‘two-person sharing' juggling patterns.
A former rhythmic gymnast, Kati’s distinctive ability to combine movement with extremely complex coordination is second-to-none. In this she has crafted an intimate and extensive knowledge of the relationship between dance and juggling. Knowledge that has ensured that Gandini Juggling’s work is always of the highest technical standard. Kati’s own performances are always accompanied by a unique calm precision, a precision that comes from decades of throwing whilst standing on one leg. Kati has used this same calm precision to steer Gandini Juggling for the past 25 years.
Kati has performed in all of Gandini Juggling’s works since 1991, performing in over 2,500 shows throughout the world – in art galleries and palaces, in town squares and in stadiums, in intimate theatres and on the stages of some of the world’s most iconic venues. In recent years Kati has co-directed many of the company’s pieces.
