Our Joint Artistic Directors, Lina Johansson and Silvia Fratelli, have unique skills which enable them to extend the movement possibilities and draw the highest physicality out of everyone they work with, be it singers, actors or physical performers, balancing creative vision with visceral impact. They are available as directors, choreographers and movement directors. We also work with an exceptional and diverse pool of circus, dance and physical performers, as well as award-winning designers, composers and film-makers. We can come in on a consultant basis or with a full team.
Dior, Royal Shakespeare Company, United Visual Artists, Tate Modern, BBC Arts, Sadler’s Wells, Adidas, We Are Social, Garsington Opera, Edinburgh International Festival, Inflammable Films, Shona Heath, National Theatre Wales, Royal Opera House, The Roundhouse, Sky Arts and more.
After graduating from the National Centre for Circus Arts (NCCA), I founded Mimbre alongside Lina Johansson and Emma Norin in 1999, with a vision of challenging the predominant gendered roles within contemporary circus. Today, Mimbre is still a female-led company creating nuanced, acrobatic theatre.
I have been both an artistic director and performer within the company, taking part in many of our productions that have toured nationally and internationally. My most recent work as a performer includes being one of the 18 Mimbre acrobats to perform alongside Dior’s Spring-Summer 2019 Haute Couture Show at Paris Fashion Week, the Sky Arts silent comedy Ruby Robinson alongside Kim Cattrall, Aida – English National Opera, The Party – Nearly There Yet, Wondrous Strange – a RSC-commissioned show, and Mimbre’s If I Could I Would. I am currently working on Mimbre’s latest production Three, which will begin touring in May.
Alongside my creative endeavours, I strive to understand the effects of training and touring on the performer’s body. In 2015 I organised and curated the first UK Acrobatic Symposium alongside Glen Stewart (Head of Training at National Centre for Circus Arts). This two-day conference brought together specialists from sports medicine, dance and movement sciences, and circus experts around the themes of acrobatics and anatomy. I was also on the steering committee for One Dance UK’s first Hip-Hop and Circus Conference at Stratford Circus.
I speak Italian, English, Spanish and French.
My name is Lina Johansson – Joint Artistic Director of Mimbre – a female led circus company using movement, high physicality and strong visual imagery to illuminate human connections.
Mimbre has toured across 23 countries and has created performances for both small and large scale, for indoor venues as well as outdoor settings. Mimbre is recognised for its excellence in developing circus and outdoor arts in the UK and is supported by Arts Council England as part of their National Portfolio. Mimbre’s last production; The Exploded Circus is a visual extravaganza weaving a physical story about how we deal with change and new beginnings. I most recently choreographed 18 acrobats to perform alongside Dior’s Spring-Summer 2019 Haute Couture Show at Paris Fashion Week.
In addition to my work with Mimbre, I work as choreographer, director and movement director for circus, theatre and opera. Originally trained in circus skills and specialising in acrobatics and acrobalance, I acquired further training and influence from a variety of movement practices and performance collaborators. These have shaped and informed the style and the physical language I have developed for a range of theatrical settings: always pursuing heightened physicality, stretching the subtle and spectacular ways that choreography and physical imagery can be used to enhance or tell a story.
My directing and choreography credits include: The Exploded Circus – Mimbre – UK Tour (Director), Aida – English National Opera (Movement Director), Wondrous Strange – Royal Shakespeare Company/Mimbre co-production (Director), City of The Unexpected – National Theatre Wales/Wales Millennium Centre co-production (Associate Director), Orfeo – National Opera House/Roundhouse co-production (Acrobatic Choreographer), Polymer – Udderbelly – London (Director), Mergence – National Centre for Circus Arts (Director), Falling Up and Bench – Mimbre – National and European tours (Director), What We Do Is What We Love – Roundhouse (Director), Boris Gudinov – Royal Shakespeare Company (Acrobatic Choreographer), among others.