As part of the European residency project Unpack the Arts, ten cultural journalists visited Circusstad in Rotterdam 1-5 May 2013 to encounter (in some cases for the first time) the many faces of contemporary circus. Seeing six shows – Cie La Meute's La Meute, Gandini Juggling's Smashed, Cirque Inextremiste's Extrêmités, Leandre's No Sé, Cie Sacékripa's Vu, and Blick Théâtre's Weird Night of Illusion – and interviewing the artists after their performances, the journalists then wrote the articles collected here – published in the original language and in English translation.
Contents
Bryan Birtles, 'Art vs Craft in Circus'
Florentina Bratfanof, 'Scratching the Surface: Contemporary Circus and the Outside Eye'
Gergana Stoytcheva, 'The Weird Nights of Contemporary Circus'
Jean Lee, 'Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat'
Katarina Hrgovic, 'Circus Art is Not into Beautiful, Passive Bodies'
Katerina Vlckova, '2 Approaches to Contemporary Circus 1 Man Show'
Liliana Coutinho, 'Taking Risks and Taking the Audience with You'
Natalia Skoczylas, 'Art in the Big Top'
Sara Nyberg, 'Chaos: Creating it and Returning to Order'
Ulla-Alexandra Mattl, 'Circus: Not always for the audience, but very often with the audience'