New Circus
New Circus
New Circus
By Michael Eigtved
”New circus” has been on the Danish cultural landscape since 1987, thanks to extensive guest appearances. However, only in recent years has it gained a serious audience and received a distinctive place in the overall spectrum.
Traditional circus, on the other hand, has always had a strong place in Denmark – though without a true school. Nevertheless, many become circus artists by participating in educational programs abroad. A group of these young people has formed the first new Danish circus ensemble Nova Exit.
This unique mix of circus skills and theatrical tools that “new circus” exploits has inspired theatrical performances to use circus artists. And a whole series of new initiatives and developments is underway to place greater focus on “new circus” in Denmark in the coming years.
- International influence
- The Academy of Untamed Creativity
- Circus and theatre
- Traditional and untraditional circus
- Development aid
International influence
The first “new circus” performance to take place in Denmark was the French equestrian circus Zingaro in 1987. But “new circus” was seriously discovered by Danes, when the ensemble Archaos – also from France – was invited to Copenhagen in 1989. The mixture of the skills of a circus performer and an idiom inspired by theatre and performance art as well as popular culture and film was captivating from the start.
The Copenhagen International Theatre (KIT) was behind the invitation and, in the years to follow, KIT has brought 3-4 prominent “new circus” troupes to Denmark every year as part of the Sommerscene programme. In this way, “new circus” has been represented by foreign ensembles. Since the 1990s, Copenhagen has become a Nordic centre for international “new circus” to which people from all over Scandinavia flock to experience something new.
The Academy of Untamed Creativity
In 1998, a group of young Danish artistes was inspired to form the “new circus” ensemble Nova Exit. In 2001 came the first true Danish “new circus” performance Apropos with performers from Nova Exit, which still had international experience behind it.
Despite a strong tradition for traditional circus in Denmark, there is no official school, as there is, for example, in France and Sweden. Most Danish circus performers - including Nova Exit – began their training at Akademiet for Utæmmet Kreativitet [The Academy of Untamed Creativity], which blends a variety of forms of youth education, including vocational schools and high schools. Here, one can major in circus performance, and the school has, among other things, ties to the State Circus School in Moscow. Most Danish artists who work professionally in “new circus” have a background from here.
Circus and theatre
In certain areas of the established theatre in recent years, there has been a growing interest in including “new circus” in its performances. The special poetry and manifold power of visual expression in circus performance has become part of a number of Danish theatrical performances. It began back in 1984 with director Peter Langdal’s groundbreaking staging of Holberg’s Eramus Montanus, in which clowns and circus performers took part.
The development reached its high point to date in the summer of 2005, when a performance of The Mermaid, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, played before a full house. Teatret Kaleidoskop and the Swedish “new circus” Cirkör were behind the production and the staging was placed in the hands of Katrine Wiedeman. This became a wondrous mixture of tightrope walking and theatrical idiom, so that the boundary between theatre and “new circus” was eradicated.
Traditional and untraditional circus
The somewhat slow entrance “new circus” made into Denmark may be due its very vital tradition for conventional circus. As of 2006, there are three major (Benneweis, Arena and Dannebrog) and five minor travelling tent circuses in Denmark, and the public interest is quite significant. Yet, in recent years, the major circuses in particular have taken inspiration from tendencies in “new circus”.
A more untraditional initiative is represented by the little Zirkus Nemo, under the guidance of actor Søren Østergaard. Zirkus Nemo treats the traditional forms of circus performance with loving humour in an absurd crazy-comedy that is clearly akin to “new circus”.
Development aid
In 2005, KIT received a grant of DKK 2.2 million, disbursed over three years, from the Danish Arts Council to promote “new circus” as a genre in Denmark. This injection of funds will mean that, in the years to come, it will be possible for more Danish initiatives within this genre to see the light of day.
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Michael Eigtved (Ph.D.). Senior lecturer at Institute for Art and Cultural Studies, Copenhagen University.
