Already in its first year, the Beta Circus project aims to help European circus artists gain professional skills in cutting-edge performance disciplines such as magie nouvelle (new magic). In this roundtable, Rigas Cirks director Mara Pavula calls on three of her fellow circus sector leaders to predict the future of European circus.

The Beta Circus project – initiated and organized by four European partner organizations, Bússola in Portugal, Teatro Necessario in Italy, Ludifico in Serbia, and Rigas Cirks in Latvia – offered artists professional training, with the inaugural curriculum focused on magie nouvelle. The project unfolded almost like a foundational course to magie nouvelle, giving the artists multiple perspectives and chances to find contact points between the techniques and their own ways of working.

Part of this project was a full-day professional gathering that focused on the project results, including discussions about the future of magic and highlighted perspectives for the development and innovation in the contemporary circus. BETA CIRCUS final conference in Ílhavo, Portugal provided an opportunity to exchange, learn and network. On behalf of Beta Circus, we are happy to share in this 3-part series the recordings of the keynote and two roundtable discussions.

Future Trends in Circus Arts

Moderator

Mara Pavulais the Director of Rigas cirks. After completing her M.A. in International Artistic Cooperation from the University of Paris in 2015, where she researched strategies for contemporary circus development in the Baltic states, Mara has since returned to Latvia to work towards the development of Latvian contemporary circus by producing events and regularly writing articles about circus for different media in the Baltics and abroad. She is also the founder of Sansusi, a residency program focused on well-being and the arts, and has been working as a producer for the Re Re Riga festival since 2013.

Panelists

Claudia Berkeley has worked at Teatro da Didascália as an actress/creator in several productions since 2014. She also programs the Vaudeville Rendez-Vous International Festival, as well as serving as its general coordinator. Claudia has experience as an assistant director, producer, and light operator. She is responsible for the participation of the company in the following international networks/platforms: Circostrada, CircusNext, and CircusLink. Between 2008 and 2011, she did her graduate studies in Theatre at the Balleteatro Contemporâneo do Porto.

Verena Cornwall has held a number of key positions in arts and heritage and is presently the director of the Winchester Science Centre. She recently served as Creative Director of St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, and prior to this, was the principal of the English National Ballet School in London. Verena has been involved in the development of street arts and circus in the UK and across Europe for many years. She set up the UK’s first touring circus academy to offer accreditation, and for ten years chaired the national advocacy agency for circus. She has also been a member of the advisory board of the Nottinghill Carnival and, the through Arts Council of England, worked as the lead change management consultant for the St Paul’s Afrikan Caribbean Carnival in Bristol and The Without Walls Consortium.

Vittoria Lombardi is the curator and director of the Milan-based agency cultureandprojects. Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies for Development and Cooperation from the University of Turin, Vittoria has since 2012 been working as a creative producer and project manager in the cultural sector, nourishing her interests in the intersection of artistic practice and social research, particularly through the curation and organisation of site-specific, participatory and community-based projects on both the national and international levels. She specializes in Social Impact Assessment and Welfare Community Management at the University of Turin and Bologna, as well as Cultural Leadership, Cultural Diplomacy, and Results-Based Management, embedding those approaches and tools in her daily curation practices.

Main image: ©JoãoVersosRoldão

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