Troupe Rendezvous presents: Lines in the Dirt. With performances by friends.

Five circus artist’s explore their personal connection to local environment, from pine stands, to spring storms. This performance is accompanied by pieces from local dance and circus artists, showing a unique snapshot of the Minnesota performing arts community.

About This Performance

Troupe Rendezvous Presents: Lines In The Dirt a production combining aerial arts, partnering floor acrobatics and dance. This piece invites the viewer to reimagine our relationship with our natural environment, our sense of place within it and what new rituals and practices we can create to connect to the world around us. In this 30 minute long piece, we will follow the journey of a pine tree from pollen blowing thru the wind to a tall an mature tree reaching for the clouds and weathering a storm , and finally its death leading to new life in its wake, reminding us that everything is connected. Aerialist Josie Hoffman, dancer Cecil “Virgo” Neal and more TBA will also perform pieces to round out the showtime to about an hour long. Members of Troupe Rendezvous include: Katie Capistrant, Dylan Portoghese, Tommy Leick, Johnny Angel, and Bailey Shatz-Akin.

“We have to perform here:” A Conversation with Katie and Dylan of Troupe Rendezvous

When acrobatic dance partners Katie Capistrant and Dylan Portoghese visited Caponi Art Park a year and a half ago, they’d just begun developing a performance chronicling the life cycle of a white pine tree. “We love to explore new parks in the Twin Cities area and decided to walk around Caponi one day,” Katie said. Stumbling upon the Theater in the Woods stage, they knew one thing for sure: “We have to perform here.” 

Joined by Tommy Leick, Johnny Angel, and Bailey Shatz-Akin, Katie and Dylan’s five-member ensemble, Troupe Rendezvous, will bring the much anticipated show Lines in the Dirt to life this June. “It’s gonna be visually interesting, as with circus performance, there’s gonna be moments of, you know, impressive tricks,” says Dylan. But Lines in the Dirt offers audiences more than just awe and excitement. Blending elements of theater, contemporary dance, acrobatics, and aerial arts, the show explores the “interconnectedness of humans and nature,” inviting audiences to examine their relationship with the lands on which they live. 

Lines in the Dirt will also feature guest performances by aerialist Josie Hoffman and Krump dancer Cecil “Virgo” Neal. Katie and Dylan told Caponi Art Park that it was important to them to invite other artists whom they admire and are inspired by to participate in the show. “It’s a means to honor the community that’s brought us to where we are,” said Katie. 

Partners for 7 years now, Katie and Dylan blend their unique backgrounds into their artistic practice. Drawing on her experience in puppetry with BareBones Puppets and fire performance with Infiammati FireCircus, Katie is well versed in engaging storytelling through movement. Dylan’s experience includes Parkour, breaking, gymnastics, ecological restoration and land management . An arborist by trade, he values “understanding how people and land interact with one another and how this relationship can have lasting effects on both entities.” 

The pair witness how acrobatic and aerial arts profoundly impact performers and audiences through performances and teaching at Stomping Ground Studio in Northeast Minneapolis. Dylan put it this way: “It’s a journey to understand yourself, your identity, and your place within the world, both physically and mentally.” Katie added, “I’ve been especially moved by the way this kind of performance and storytelling resonates with audiences, whether that be on a spiritual, physical, or emotional level.”

Join us at the park June 7th and 8th for Lines in the Dirt, an exploration of life, connection, and movement brought to you by this vibrant local dance and circus arts community.