At the contemporary circus festival “Helium” – a circus about the fear of death, broken glass and 200 kg weights | Culture

Highlights of the HELIUM program: a circus about the fear of death, diapers, broken glass and 200 kg weights

“Usually, when we think of circus, we think of wonder, complex tricks, impressive scenography, but modern circus can be different! This will be revealed in part of this year’s festival program. The audience will be able to become a part of some performances themselves, explore serious topics in the language of movement, see the everyday life of a Lithuanian store – warehouse on stage, see a circus project staged by diapers or admire juggling while traveling around the different spaces of the Art Press”, says Gabrielė Kundrotaitė, its creator, about the HELIUM program.

On the first days of the HELIUM festival, after a break of several years, it will be possible to see an extensive program of contemporary circus from the Baltic countries, in which Gretė Gross show “Body machine“, reminiscent of a warm hug, the Lithuanian “Theatre“team performance”Itch”, which tells about the fear of death, the troupe “būda.collective“work”Food products“, exploring the everyday life of the store, Marijos Baranauskaitė – Liberman „Diaper project“, troupes “So the circus“a performance inspired by the visualization of forces”inTENSE” and Lithuanian and Latvian creative teams “Art for rainy days” a performance where dance and acrobatics on a rope will meet – “How a spiral works“.

Photo by David Konecny/A moment of the GIREVIK performance

“This year’s HELIUM program also includes conceptual circus works that offer an alternative approach to norms established in society and performances that make you doubt whether what you see on stage is really real.” This year’s program will feature the works of foreign creators, shown at the biggest contemporary circus festivals, as well as the latest works of creators from the Baltic countries, some of which will be presented in France in October!” – shares G. Kundrotaitė.

Photo by Jouni Porsanger/A moment of the PACEMAKER show

On September 9-18, lovers of sharp sensations will be waiting for the French “Dissociee“work”Pacemaker“, in which the circus performance is also performed on broken glass, juggling, visual arts and the environment will be combined by the Dutch “Tall Tales Company“moving show”Square Two“, Belgian troupes will attract attention “Cie Circumstances“an impressive performance of physical circus and dance”Exit“, will make Slovak creators surprised Roman Shkadra work “Girevik“, in which a man and two hundred kilogram weights will appear, endurance will be tested by Danish companies “Don Gnu” latest work “Stamina“.

Changes to HELUM: After this year, the festival will be organized every other year

The contemporary circus festival HELIUM welcomes this year with changes – after this year’s festival, it will be held every second year!

“In the strategic program of “Art Press” prepared at the beginning of the year, we have planned many changes for the coming years. One of them is the organization of the international contemporary circus festival HELIUM every other year, so from this year this festival becomes a biennial!

Photo by Megan Zondervan/A moment from the SUARE TWO show

This choice was determined by many reasons, among which probably the format of the festival and the challenges we face when planning the festival program are important. We only have one hall technically suitable for most circus performances and 7-8 days to present the festival events, so our wishes have been running out of physical possibilities for several years now.

In addition, while planning the organization’s future activities, we noticed that the inclusion of performances by foreign troupes in the repertoires of performing arts organizations is still a rare phenomenon. Most often, such performances are associated with the programs of international festivals organized in Lithuania.

These and several other reasons prompted us to rethink the presentation of contemporary circus as a genre to the audience of “Art Press” and to choose a slightly different form, so from next year we will invite fans of contemporary circus to follow our repertoire and attend performances by foreign creators of contemporary circus throughout the year, and to the HELIUM festival to return in 2026″, Jolita Balandytė, the head of the Art Printing House, shares the changes.

In the coming years, the contemporary circus will remain one of the priority areas of activity of the Arts Press, so you can expect even more circus performances and educational activities!

“We will continue to support the professional circus community, we will contribute to raising the profile of this genre through various educational activities, already in October of this year, in cooperation with the association “Teatronas”, we will establish a contemporary circus school “Cirko Sapiens” in the Art Printing House and invite children and young people to informal educational activities.

We really hope that in the long term it will become not only a means for the young audience to get to know the modern circus better, to participate in extracurricular activities, but also to connect their profession with the modern circus”, says J. Balandytė.

The contemporary circus festival HELIUM is already on September 8-19, in the spaces of the Arts Press. You can find the full festival program at menuspaustuve.lt

The HELIUM festival program is financed by: the Lithuanian Culture Council, the Vilnius City Municipality, the support of the Government of Flanders, the Netherlands Performing Arts Foundation.