Circus got hijacked by the cultural elite
This year we’re celebrating 250 years of circus. A year filled with events, masterclasses, lectures, festivals and other events celebrating circus was supposed to follow. Did celebrating 250 years of circus really add to the circus industry or has the cultural elite been hijacking circus? The past decade circus has changed significantly, we modernized, found […]
Cultural participation as a status symbol
Big brands like Ferrari and Chanel have spent billions on marketing to become much loved status symbols. It works because people like to distinguish themselves from one another. Visits to theatre, musea, dance and circus are becoming more and more a symbol of status. Social media makes people share their experience and it shows to […]
The sum of Pile-en-face
Pile-en-face consists of five young artists of different disciplines such as hand-to-hand, object manipulation and acrobatics. Together they have created a performance that has an interesting combination of smooth movements, a philosophical approach and a clear vision of what is needed to tell a story. Pile-en-face has created a performance about the inevitable search for […]
A painful truth by La Bella Tour
The average artist of traditional circus would instantly have the felt pain caused by a confronting piece of clowning being told by Roi Borallas and Guillermo (SP) Balagans. During their performance on Festival Boulevard (NL) they show the desperation of circus clowns in a tradition that slowly seems to die and disappear. A duo that […]
The essence of circus
For as long circus has been around it has displaying the capabilities of the human mind and body. Circus has brought people together from all social classes, from streetwise kids to the rich and famous they have all admired bodies, movements, the latest techniques. Circus artists took people by the hand in an exploration of […]
How to predict a festivals winner
There are many circus festivals around in Europe and so there are many artists. Often I have seen acts that win festivals that are not per definition the best acts. So what makes someone win a festival? Festivals are all about politics. Are you likeable, who are your friends, who is your family? It […]