The circusnext European pre-selection has announced the projects that they selected on November 14 and 15th which they will support in the upcoming circusnext platform over 2020-2021. This support will be dispersed via granting residencies and showcases. Circusnext’s goal is to support and assist artistic creation and the circulation of artists.

On their website, they explain that circusnext was ”born out of the fact that emerging artists and companies have real difficulties in their creative process, the circusnext project aims at identifying these new creators and encouraging the emergence of new writings in the field of circus arts.”

The result is an important support program for emerging authors and creators in the circus sector in Europe and is an essential program for the development of contemporary circus and the recognition of circus as an art form. 

The creators of the projects will be invited to present work-in-progress and to meet the jury members during the selection week in May 2020 at Theater op de Markt, Neerpelt (Belgium) and names of the circusnext laureates 2020-2021 will be announced at the end of the selection week. 

Of the selection, circusnext says, “The supported artists distinguish themselves by the richness and originality of their aesthetic approaches, as well as their appetite to experiment.”

Here are the 12 shortlisted projects:

• [9] – Myrto Petrochilou (GR)
• Ice skates and other cruelties – Camille Paycha (BE)
• H O M A N. – Vincent Bruyninckx & Vejde Grind (BE)
• Le poids de l’âme – tout est provisoire – Chiara Marchese (FR)
• Pli – Groupe LA MARGE / Inbal Ben Haim (FR)
• CHINA SERIES – Julian Vogel (CH)
• L’Estetica dell’orso – EDO / Léon Luc Volet, Carlo Cerato & Ramiro Erburu (IT)
• Lento e violento – Calentina Vortese / Valentina Cortese (IT)
• CM_30 – Kolja Huneck (NL)
• OLGA (working title) – OLGA_cirqAnalogique / Catalina Aguayo Lessa & Alessandro Dutra (ES)
• Manipulaciones – Elena Zanzu (ES)
• Between me and a hard place – Hugo Bergman (SE)

Photo source: circusnext website

A clip of 2019/2020 selection process: