This year’s Circus Sessions, was a bold experiment in accessibility. Produced by Femmes du Feu, where Holly Treddenick is artistic director, at Harbourfront Centre, and led by artist mentor Marie-Andreé Robitaille, this year’s showing covered innovative territory and pushed forward the state of accessible circus showings in Canada.

Circus Sessions is a five-day creative laboratory for circus artists in Canada and beyond to explore, collaborate and experiment, led by a different artist mentor every year. This process culminates in a two-day public showing of experimentation and collaboration. For Circus Sessions, diversity is a key aspect of the mandate, which is an area where contemporary circus often fails. While it is notable that the cast was not entirely white (which frequently occurs in North American contemporary circus) in a city as diverse as Toronto, one might expect to see a broader representation of circus artists of colour. Furthermore, there were multiple members of the cast who identify as chronically ill or disabled, which is rare in a field where high performing circus artists are typically non-disabled.For this year’s fourth season of Circus Sessions, a decision was made to incorporate audio description and other accessibility features for the first time. ...