Three Lithuanian contemporary circus performances will be presented at one of the most important European festivals Culture

The Circa festival annually attracts several hundred professionals from all over the world to observe the latest works, the most famous names, and the most current trends. To appear at this festival is the goal and a huge responsibility of many circus artists. “The cinema has Cannes, the theater has Avignon, and the circus has the city of Osh and the circus festival with the greatest international visibility in Europe. When we found out about a diplomatic event of this scale in France, I decided to get to know its new manager and propose the idea of ​​presenting something that has never been seen in Osh before – a Lithuanian contemporary circus program”, says Gildas Aleksa, head of one of the main organizations in Lithuania strategically developing the field of contemporary circus, Teatronas.

Photo by D. Ališauskas/Monika and Gildas

Le Prato (Lille), Le Palc (Champagne Chalons) and Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde located in the Paris area are circus centers with an international residency program that have selected future performances by Lithuanian artists to reside in their organizations and to show to local audiences. their sketches.

“Residencies in partner centers are a particularly important part of the project, allowing artists to see themselves in the French context, where the competition on the circus stage is much greater. All this promotes not only the growing quality, but also helps the artists to feel more confident as the premieres approach,” says Monika Citvaraitė-Lansbergienė, Curator of Teatrono programs. “We are proud that we have been working together with our partners since the first stages of the project – the circus performances were selected by the French, and we gave the opportunity to Lithuanian creators, encouraged them to participate and present themselves. We see that the partners trust the selected works and artists and want to contribute to the creation.”

Artists selected by French partners will present three new performances: “How A Spiral Works” (troupe “Art for Rainy Days”), “Nappies Project” (Marija Baranauskaitė-Liberman) and “InTENSE” (Tigi circus).

The first performance contains a number of connections: between air and land, acrobatics and dance, Lithuania and Latvia. The show is created by Lithuanian aerial acrobat Izabelė Kuzelytė, dancer Alise Bokaldere (Latvia) and Jason Dupree (Latvia, UK).

D.Putino nuotr./„Art For Rainy Days“

Marija Baranauskaitė-Liberman continues her work for a non-human audience and dives into considerations of what the performance would be like if it were directed by diapers. Using conceptual contemporary clowning, the artist intends to explore issues of dignity, care and age.

The third performance is the newest work of one of the first contemporary circus troupes in Lithuania, Taigi circus “InTENSE”. In it, the principles of architecture, anatomy and sociology are suspended in the air in such a way that various force factors become visible to the viewer. After creatively looking at the possibilities of hanging and connecting circus machines, artists Konstantin Kosovec, Izabelė Kuzelytė and Elena Kosovec will aim to give human form to abstract concepts.

The Circa festival in Osho, France will take place on October 18-26. The project is part of the Lithuanian season in France 2024.