• Reader Survey - July 2013

    Reader Survey - July 2013

    The statistics below are drawn from an open survey held 17-29 July 2013. There were 87 respondents from 18 countries.

    Relationship to circus

    * Respondents were obviously able to tick multiple boxes here, so in each case the percentage is the percentage of the total number of respondents.

    Other practices trained

    Q. Do you practice/train in any of the following?

    33 Dance – 38%
    9 Climbing – 10%
    18 Puppetry / object manipulation – 21%
    20 Gymnastics – 23%
    20 Physical theatre – 23%
    27 Yoga / pilates – 31%
    2 Martial arts – 2%
    2 Parkour – 2%
    25 None of the above – 29%
    71% of respondents practice at least one additional physical skill

    Performances attended

    Q: How many ticketed circus shows have you seen in the last year?

    All:

    35% of all respondents saw 0-5 shows
    24% of all respondents saw 6-10 shows
    14% of all respondents saw 11-15 shows
    14% of all respondents saw 16-20 shows
    13% of all respondents saw 21+ shows

    Artists:

    50% of artists saw 0-5 shows
    27% of artists saw 6-10 shows
    3% of artists saw 11-15 shows
    13% of artists saw 16-20 shows
    7% of artists saw 21+ shows

    Producers / professionals:

    4% of producers / professionals saw 0-5 shows
    26% of producers / professionals saw 6-10 shows
    26% of producers / professionals saw 11-15 shows
    22% of producers / professionals saw 16-20 shows
    22% of producers / professionals saw 21+ shows
    50% of artists attended 0-5 contemporary circus performances in the last year
    * Respondents were asked to rate themselves 1-5, with the values: 1 - very poor, 2 - poor, 3 - average, 4 - good, 5 - excellent. Nobody scored themselves 1. The majority of responses were clustered around 3 and 4.

    Knowledge of the artform

    Q: How would you rate your own knowledge of contemporary circus as an artform (i.e. current aesthetic trends, history of the form, different creation processes, etcetera)?

    Among all respondents the average score was 3.82
    Artists scored themselves an average of 3.97
    Producers / professionals scored themselves an average of 4

    Knowledge of the industry

    Q: How would you rate your own knowledge of contemporary circus as an industry (i.e. international festivals and networks, resources for funding and residencies, professional opportunities and pathways, etcetera)?

    Among all respondents the average score was 3.43
    Artists scored themselves an average of 3.23
    Producers / professionals scored themselves an average of 3.91
    Producers / professionals believe they're better than everyone and consider themselves more knowledgeable

    Full-length circus videos

    Q: Would you be interested in watching full-length videos of circus productions online (i.e. a livestream or recording of a performance)?

    81% of all respondents said Yes
    80% of artists said Yes
    70% of producers / professionals said Yes

    Online discussions

    Q: Would you be interested in participating in online discussions / Q&A sessions with circus artists or directors?

    78% of all respondents said Yes
    80% of artists said Yes
    78% of producers / professionals said Yes

    Industry coverage

    Q: Would you be interested in reading interviews with established companies focusing on the practical aspects of their work (how they sell/market shows, their approach in pursuing funding, their organisational structure, etcetera)?

    99% of all respondents said Yes
    97% of artists said Yes
    100% of producers / professionals said Yes
    99% of respondents want to read dry, professional articles about budgeting and tour schedules and personnel management