News | Circus Dance Festival

Open Call: Work Experience 2023

Open Call: Circus, Film & Digitality

Open Call: Circus & Dance 360°

Open Call: Performers for the Young-Savages-Ensemble KoEFFEKT

We are looking for young people from a performing arts field (dance, circus, drama etc.) for the ensemble KoEFFEKT. The ensemble will create a piece that dares to combine contemporary circus and contemporary dance. Literary works by the author Haruki Murakami will serve as the inspiration for this year's KoEFFEKT production.

KoEFFEKT represents an annually changing ensemble under an existing name. The production as well as the rehearsals will run under the direction of Tanja Manderfeld and Tim Plegge. This work is a part of the support project of the youth and young talent section Young Savages.

A Work In Progress Showing will take place before the premiere at the CircusDanceFestival 2023. A performance opportunity is also the festival Zeit für Zirkus, the German cooperation partner of the international Nuit du Cirque.

For more information and to register for auditions on Nov. 5 and 6 between 10 am and 5 pm, click here.

Zeit für Zirkus in Cologne

Between November 11 and 13, the nationwide festival Zeit für Zirkus, the German counterpart to the French Nuit du Cirque, takes place. In Cologne, you can even experience circus for a whole week at numerous venues. The CircusDanceFestival is also participating in this with two film evenings and one show:

On November 7 at 5 p.m., we will show three film portraits on French circus artist Chloé Moglia, the Cologne collective Raum für Zirkus and Swiss Julian Vogel in the Filmforum NRW at Museum Ludwig.

On November 12 at 5 p.m., you can see two films, one about computer scientist and juggler Adrien Mondot and sculptor Claire Bardainne, and the other about French-based artist Claudio Stellato at Filmhaus Köln.

On both evenings, Tim Behren and Jenny Patschovsky will introduce the art form of contemporary circus and give an insight into the young publication "Circus in Flux", which they have published with the publisher Theater der Zeit.

On November 10 at 2 pm + on November 12 at 1 pm you can experience the juggler Benjamin Richter with "Taktil" at the Haus der Architektur.

We invite you to have a look at the Zeit für Zirkus website for further information on the programme in Cologne and other German cities.

Upcoming Autumn Residencies

In October and November the CircusDanceFestival invites the artists Marija Baranauskaité, Ting Kuan Zhao and the make a move collective to Cologne. For a period of one week each they can dedicate themselves to their current projects, develop (further) artistically and experiment with where they want to go with their project.

We are already very happy to welcome the three artists and hope for a creative time!

Here you have an insight into former residencies.

Open Call: Autumn residencies

As part of the residency program, the CircusDanceFestival invites applications for two rehearsal residencies in Cologne for fall 2022. The call is aimed at professional artists and companies working at the interface of contemporary circus and dance. Submissions from related fields such as physical theater, puppet theater or performance art are also possible.

Further information and application formalities

Now published: Circus in flux

Workbook Theater der Zeit | Can be purchased now!

Over the past fifty years, the circus has undergone a remarkable transformation. Progressive circus forms have gained a new position within society internationally as "contemporary circus." The workbook is dedicated to this still young circus form and presents analyses, interviews, commentaries, extensive photographic material and artistic positions of international and German circus artists. With the additional special insert of the VOICES magazine "Re-thinking objects" the book dives deep into the current circus-aesthetic discourse on new materialisms and also takes up the connections to contemporary dance.

To order

To the VOICES III magazine "Re-thinking objects