About CircusDanceFestival
The CircusDanceFestival addresses current societal issues and provides space for aesthetic developments in the fields of contemporary circus, dance, and performance. A particular focus is placed on body-oriented, political, and interdisciplinary working methods.
The annual festival program includes, among other things, the format 360° Shorts, which presents international styles and new performative approaches for the round stage. The program is further complemented by film formats that explore experimental forms in interaction with the medium of film. The Latibul Circus Garden, a family day aimed specifically at younger audiences, experiments with new ways of engaging and presenting.
A distinctive feature of the festival is its location in the Rhine Meadows in the northern part of Cologne: Starting from the grounds of the Latibul Theater & Circus Educational Center, the festival extends into the adjacent public park. A large part of the program takes place outdoors and with free admission, and is further enriched by city interventions.
With a variety of projects, the festival supports the development of contemporary circus and contributes to the professional and artistic discourse on circus as an independent art form. Located geographically near France, Belgium, and the Netherlands – countries with established funding structures for contemporary circus – the festival is rooted in North Rhine-Westphalia, a region with a rich artistic and cultural landscape. It plays an active role in the structural establishment of the genre in Germany as part of the performing arts.
In 2024, the CircusDanceFestival was awarded the Cologne Cultural Prize in the "Young Initiative" category – in recognition of its innovative cultural impulses for the city of Cologne.
Projects
As part of its so-called campus projects, the festival initiates endeavors in the areas of research, exchange, young talent promotion, and theory. This includes, among other things, research projects like the Archive Lab in collaboration with the German Dance Archive, international symposia and conferences, the Creation Lab for students of European circus and dance schools, as well as publications such as the VOICES magazine or the workbook *Circus in flux* published by Theater der Zeit.
In 2023, a special project titled "Re-exploring the grotesque" was supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. An accompanying VOICES publication explored the concept of the grotesque in relation to circus and colonial history. In 2024, the project "Re-Inventing Circus" was launched in celebration of the inclusion of circus in the intangible cultural heritage list of the German UNESCO Commission. It was supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media and addressed the tensions between tradition and renewal. An accompanying publication focused on the political aspects of the clown figure.
In 2025, the international project "Take Care – Circus life in a swing" will start, a Creative Europe initiative of FEDEC, the European network of professional circus schools. The CircusDanceFestival will host the kick-off conference.
Circus in Flux
Over the past decades, circus has undergone significant changes internationally. From being a popular form of entertainment, a new artistic form known as "Nouveau Cirque" developed in France in the 1970s. The term "contemporary circus," which has been in use since the mid-1990s, represents a genre that increasingly gains social relevance and artistic recognition. In Germany, contemporary circus has also become more firmly established as part of the performing arts over the past ten years.
In Cologne, this young genre plays a special role. The founding of the Initiative Neuer Zirkus in 2011, which later became the Federal Association of Contemporary Circus, marked an important step toward its recognition as an independent art form in Germany. The genre is now firmly anchored in the VDK – Association of Performing Arts Cologne – as well as in KNK – Cultural Network Cologne.
Artistic Direction – Overhead Project Company
The CircusDanceFestival was initiated in 2019 as a TANZPAKT City-Country-Federal project by the Cologne-based company Overhead Project, under the artistic direction of choreographer Tim Behren and managing director Mechtild Tellmann. Overhead Project has been producing circus-choreographic works at the intersection of circus and dance for over 15 years.
More about the company:www.overhead-project.de