Silvia Fratelli
Co-Founder and Joint Artistic Director
After graduating from the National Centre for Circus Arts (NCCA) in 1998, Silvia founded Mimbre alongside Lina Johansson and Emma Norin with a vision of challenging the predominant gendered roles within contemporary circus.
Silvia has been both an artistic director and performer within the company, taking part in many of its productions that have toured nationally and internationally. Her most recent work as a performer includes 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.
Currently, she leads on Mimbre’s acrobatic training and well-being programme and investigations, developing Mimbre’s team of core acrobatic performers. She manages the company’s international bookings and tour logistics, and was on the steering committee for One Dance UK’s first Hip-Hop and Circus Conference.
Silvia speaks Italian, English, Spanish and French.
Get in touch with Silvia
Image credit: Stephen Fyfe
Lina Johansson
Co-Founder and Joint Artistic Director
Lina Johansson founded Mimbre together with Silvia Fratelli and Emma Norin in 1999 with a vision of creating strong acrobatic choreographies with women only.
As Joint Artistic Director of Mimbre, Lina leads on the company’s vision and artistic programme, including Mimbre’s programme for local young people. Lina also works on collaborations and external projects with other theatre companies, venues and creatives, as director, specialist choreographer and movement director. She is driven by the wish to use circus and physicality not only for thrill and spectacle, but also in subtle ways to represent human relationships, create an atmosphere, tell a narrative or reveal a character.
Her 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 Cenre 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. Lina is also mother of two daughters, balancing them alongside all the other things in the air!
Get in touch with Lina.
Emma Norin
Co-Founder
Emma began training to be a circus performer at Marieborgs Folkhögskola in Sweden in 1994, and then went on to train at The Circus Space in London in 1996-1998, and in Havana, Cuba in 1999. She co-founded Mimbre with Lina Johansson and Silvia Fratelli.
Emma has extensive experience of working with ensemble acrobatics and developing movement in a balancing context and is especially interested in exploring the possibility of linking the physical and emotional as a performer as well as the expressive potential of acrobatics.
In 2013 Emma was one of the core acrobats for ‘The Lightprincess’ – National Theatre’s fairytale musical composed by Tori Amos.
Emma moved back to Sweden in 2014.