Letní Letná Festival Proves Czech Contemporary Circus Is in Fine Form
If you want to see the very best of Czech contemporary circus, you simply cannot miss the 19th Letní Letná festival, taking place from August 11 to 31. A strong feminine energy flows through this year’s programme, with the Czech Stage bringing together several significant projects from female contemporary circus artists. As well, 17 well-known domestic circus groups like the Losers Cirque Company are slated to make appearances alongside inventive artists like Ondřej Holba.
Held in a park near the centre of Prague for nearly two decades, Letní Letná, the international festival of contemporary circus and theatre, has played a large part in ensuring that Czech contemporary circus can today boldly compete with its international counterparts. The only show of its kind and scope in the Czech Republic and neighbouring countries, the festival devotes a separate Czech Stage to domestic contemporary circus. In fact, Letní Letná has helped to bring this art form into the public’s consciousness and has made it possible for Czech productions to be shown regularly in one place.
This year, female contemporary circus artists are strongly represented in the form of solo projects. Irrespective of the dramaturgical intent of the festival, they express themselves through their projects in the same way, addressing problems and questions which are not unique to Czech viewers.
The questions of life’s changes and self-awareness straight away link two of the female performers. Graduate of non-verbal theatre Eva Stará has been digging into the idea of self-confidence and self-determination for some time; her explorations crystallised in Mass, in which she places this idea into the context of modern society. Alžběta Tichá got into aerial acrobatics when she was starting out with dance. Her projectStavmirrors women on their journey through life. The movement of another performer, Lenka Švolíková, is also influenced by dance, as well as martial arts. In Sandwritten, she explores the ideas of being present and interpersonal contact. She considers a theatre performance to be similar to a societal event, where audience reactions also play a part.
Reflecting on her creative intentions, Eliška Brtnická explains, “I try to find other faces of aerial movement by searching for different shapes and forms of aerial trapeze.” The documentary performanceHang Out processes responses from previous generations about how they spent their free time. She points out that safety has become one of the most valued assets of our time. But, in doing so, are we not depriving ourselves of that feeling of fear when we go beyond our limits? Brtnická replaces the audience’s tremors of fear, repressed in the interest of safety, with a display of acrobatic stunts. Actor, acrobat, and performer Klára Hajdinová likewise chose a sensitive issue for her first effort. “The consumption of psychotropic drugs has increased sixfold in the past 25 years. It’s no longer a taboo, but a feature of modern life,” she remarks. Her project’s title,V kruhu (In The Circle), symbolises the drugs themselves and refers to the cycle of psychotropics and therapy. The author reflects her own experiences in the performance.
TheLosers Cirque Company is rarely missing from Letní Letná. One of the pioneers of Czech contemporary circus, they are, despite their name, one of the most successful domestic ensembles of this artistic discipline. Their career began by winning a talent competition at a time when contemporary circus was still largely undiscovered by Czech audiences. These days, they have nearly ten evening-long performances under their belt as well as critical praise. In their latest performance,Grandiózní, they take inspiration “from real events.” By almost parodying themselves, they take the audience behind the scenes of a failing theatre group who are trying to create an exceptional artistic project. Although the acrobats are short on money and without a suitable place to practice, they are, of course, unwilling to make any sacrifices.
For the second time in a row, the opening of Letní Letná will be filled by the AirGym Art Company, which largely performs aerial acrobatics. The heights cause adrenalin to course through the veins of both their performances and their audiences alike. The ensemble has prepared a new piece especially for Letní Letná calledNonSen(s), which plays on the Czech word for ‘dream’ (sen). This performance about dreaming at night and during the day is constructed on fantasy, illusion, and elaborate numbers.
An example from this year’s programme of contemporary circus constantly looking for new talent is the gifted artistOndřej Holba, whose interests lie in the use of robotics and artificial intelligence in clowning. His performanceAnd Who Is Useless Now? originated in the use of AI and robotics. He is inspired by the thinking of the founder of modern informatics Alan Turing and artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky.
The craft of Czech contemporary art can be admired at Letní Letná either in the big top or on the open-air stage. At the latter, audiences can see selected performances for free as part of the festival’s effort to promote contemporary circus. The open-air programme attests to the diversity of contemporary circus forms. It starts withPropane Punk Show, a spectacular pyrotechnic display. Street art ensembles MansterVille and Blackout Paradox will light up this spectacle together with their pyrotechnic effects. Aventyr combines physical theatre, swordplay, and acrobatics in their recounting of the thrilling Legend of Suleiman. Juggling has increased in popularity among Letní Letná’s visitors, with the festival even dedicating a whole day to juggling workshops; it is also the specialty of the group Bratři v tricku, which for ten years has been at the pinnacle of Czech contemporary circus.They will perform their humorous juggling shortson the outside stage.
Alongside presenting the best of contemporary circus, theLetní Letná festival also focuses on supporting the next generation of artists. As such, It is arranging two camps outside of the city for children, as well can giving adults the chance to try contemporary circus through numerous workshops. Moreover, the newest generation of circus performers will appear at the festival in the separate Teens Cirkabaret.
Images owned by Martina Plesníková and Nikola Lörinczová Main image: Bratři v tricku, Bratří speciál
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