Re-Inventing Circus
Contemporary circus between heritage and renewal
This year's edition of the Cologne CircusDanceFestival is dedicated to the theme of contemporary circus between heritage and renewal. The festival presents various contemporary and progressive circus forms and discusses the understanding of circus in terms of tradition and experimentation.
With its programme, the CircusDanceFestival places the traditional image of circus in relation to contemporary forms and makes circus visible as a cultural-historical, social and aesthetic phenomenon.
The selected performances relate to the festival theme in very different ways and show the complexity of contemporary circus creation:
The German premiere of GLORIOUS BODIES, for example, is dedicated to the ageing body in the circus with six acrobats aged between 55 and 67 and, together with them, makes circus history archived literally in the body visible. In the show A SPECTACLE OF HERSELF by British circus performer Laura Murphy's critical view on circus and society and her love of circus flow seamlessly into one another and she allows major themes such as mental health and personal identity to collide. Diana Salles‘ DELUSIONAL "I KILLED A MAN" also treats identity and takes the audience on the journey of a trans woman. In SAWDUST SYMPHONY craftsmanship meets circus arts and 3 jugglers confront the central question of circus in a unique and humorous way. Is it art or craft? The host company Overhead Project from Cologne deconstructs classical ideas of a pas de deux in dance and of the duowork in partner acrobatics in their show BLUEPRINT.
Since March 2023, circus has been recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Germany following a recommendation by the German UNESCO Commission. This recognises both the cultural-historical social significance of circus and its unique form within the performing arts in Germany. With this step, Germany is following countries such as Finland and the Netherlands within the European Union - countries in which circus, its history and its potential for transformation as a contemporary art form have been part of the social discourse since the 1970s. The new generations of circus professionals in particular have played a major role in renewing the image of circus as a genre that is often perceived as outdated and stagnant.
For the CircusDanceFestival, this recognition of circus as cultural heritage also entails a special responsibility to engage with the complex cultural-historical phenomenon of circus. In view of the coexistence of classical and contemporary forms of circus, the festival sees progressive and experimental circus forms in particular, with their artistic approaches, as a big potential to renew traditional images of circus and to reinterpret romanticised circus clichés. The aim is also to develop a social awareness of the role and responsibility of circus practice in view of its colonial history. To this end, the festival has already published the VOICES publication "Re-exploring the grotesque", which was published by Theater der Zeit in 2023.
With this year's festival edition, CircusDanceFestival invites you to discover different international contemporary circus forms and to reflect on and discuss the understanding of circus in terms of tradition, experimentation and renewal.