Circus Performers Wow Them in South Africa
These Sleek Acrobats not only Perform Together, but are Married too.
Feb 20, 2009
Natalie Roberts, who partners Orlando Vargas in the acts which they perform around the country, was born in Philadelphia, South Africa, a small farming community outside Cape Town. But from the outset, she longed for the city – and the chance to dance professionally.
Yearning for a Mountain; Dreaming of the Dance
From Philadelphia, she always dreamed of seeing Table Mountain, hoping it would be visible on some exceptionally clear day, but it was not to be. It was just out of sight. But if she could only see it, she thought childishly, her dreams would come true.
Soon after finishing school, she took up dancing at Jazz Art where she qualified and joined the company as a professional dancer.
An Irresistible Alchemy
In 2004 she was one of the South African dancers invited by Cirque du Soleil to perform at the opening of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament in Sydney, Australia in collaboration with other international artists. This was where she met Orlando Vargas from the Circo del Mundo group in Chile – the man who was to be her husband.
Both Natalie Roberts and Orlando Vargas recognized instantly that there was a mysterious but powerful alchemy at work here. Later she returned to Chili to teach, and also to learn circus work. But, importantly, it was here that she met Orlando again and shortly afterwards they returned to Cape Town.
Partners in the Sky, and for Life
They got married, on the beach. There were not many people present. They wanted to keep it small, intimate. After a spell at Zip Zap circus school in Cape Town as a Performing Artist and a teacher, Vargas and Roberts joined the Madame Zingara Theatre of Dreams project in South Africa, combining circus acts, magic and dancing. After the contract expired, they formed their own company, SircuSenergy, which signaled a new journey for the acrobatic duo.
Recently Natalie and Orlando were part of a show at the Barnyard Theatre in Gauteng. The show included a mix of classic rock 'n’ roll and magical tricks but the highlight, according to the critics, was the stunning act of Natalie and Orlando who performed their aerobatic dances virtually above the heads of the audiences.
Dancers in the Sky
A critic also wrote that their act reminded her of Circe du Soleil’s shows, possibly because of their fusion of various disciplines, music, dance, lightning. Roberts also performs an act with another female aerial artist which is described as “… a sexy and sensual aerial dance heavily exploited by the fascination of their bodily strength.”
Vargas and Roberts’ acrobatic dances in the sky bespeak a kind of yearning, both sensual and sexy, mirroring, one feels, the powerful dynamics of their own relationship: They are like lovers everywhere, just more exotic, magical and up there, in the sky.
And She Saw the Mountain …
Recently, Roberts and Vargas shared the photographs of their wedding which took place on Milnerton beach in Cape Town. It was the background everyone would instantly recognize as the world's most iconic sights: in the distance was Table Mountain, towering majestically over the city. It was the mountain she had always yearned to see when she was growing up and dreamed of becoming a dancer. Now she’s found the mountain and her dreams. And she's found love.
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