Explorations of Research and Creation with Charles Batson – Working Through Fear, Finding Hope & Ways of Being with Marco Bortoleto and Murilo Toledo
CircusTalk is pleased to present “Explorations of Research and Creation with Charles Batson.” A series dedicated to provocative dives into where research and creation meet in the development of intriguing art, this series is designed to showcase experiences in how creative processes and research questions guide, inform, and give a spark to stimulating work. Join us for this four-episode journey from across our many circus worlds!
In this first of two episodes focusing on artists from Brazil, the scholar, athlete, and artist Marco Bortoleto offers a fascinating background to what he sees as the state of research and creation in his universe. In this teaser in which he also refers to the second artist and company to feature in a forthcoming episode, he throws down a gauntlet of sorts for what he wishes for our world – while celebrating the joys of what he knows to exist and to take for shape and form. His responses are a model for ways of thinking about each of the questions we pose in this series, as he points always to place- and person-specific impulses, answers, and possibilities.
Our primary conversation here is precisely the kind of “deep dive” that can be highly revelatory and provocative. Murilo Toledo – or, as his friends, students, and co-creators call him, Muri-Love – walks us through a life of commingled research-creation. This life, for Murilo, carries the flavors of our (sometimes dark) pasts while offering ways of bringing hope and light both to ourselves and to fellow artist-researchers. Here,CircusTalk is happy to see conversations rejoin earlier explorations of Queer Circus, as Murilo proudly identifies as a queer artist; this conversation helps take those explorations into yet more realms of what research and creation can offer to us. We invite you to drop into the conversation anywhere, but you will not want to miss in particular his final recommendations. Bracing, stimulating, and moving, they call for us all to embrace creation and research as ways of living.
Marco is an acrobatics enthusiast who has gone from professional artist to circus teacher. After he realized his body could no longer support his acrobatics work, he decided to join a university to research circus and contribute to bringing together different circus people/sectors (social, recreational, professional, …) and stay connected with this wonderful art form. Marco has taken the academic world by storm, holding a PhD at University of Lleida – Spain, and Post-Doctorate at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and at University of Manitoba (Canada). He is also an Associate Professor at University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and Director of Circus Research Lab (CIRCUS/Unicamp), Associate Research at CRITAC (National Circus School / Montreal – Canada), memebr of the PhD Circus Directors Network – University of Montpellier (France), and was a Coach in Acrobatics from 2000 to 2004 at Barcelona Circus School – Spain.
Murilo Toledo, a transdisciplinary artist from Campinas, São Paulo, is renowned for his innovative blend of acrobatics, dance, and queer+ activism. A UNICAMP alumnus, he excels in his commitment to inclusivity and social transformation. Toledo’s current work with CiaGravitá in ‘Incorpóreo’ revolutionizes circus art by integrating aerial acrobatics with audio description, creating inclusive and emotionally resonant performances. As a prominent figure in the LGBTQIAP+ community, especially with the “#RessignifiCASA” project exhibited in ITAÚ Cultural, fostering societal empathy. Toledo expands his artistic and educational initiatives, focusing on developing projects that merge art, innovation, and education to enrich and empower diverse communities, transforming art into a vehicle for social change.
We hope you enjoy these discussions!
References and links to supplement…
The show Murilo refers to in the interview, here showcasing the involvement of a visually impaired participant.
Want to explore further? Check out the other episodes of Explorations of Research and Creation here!
All photos graciously shared by the creators.
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