After this year’s edition of Le Festival Mondial de Cirque de Demain was canceled, festival planners and artists alike were left to face the disappointment of their loss– but in the face of loss, there grew determination. Three circus artists on the festival’s roster– Agustín Rodriguez Beltran (RB), Marica Marinoni, and Evgeny Kurkin— weigh in on moving on and recovering from disappointment.

In its third year, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to throw wrenches in our plans. The world seemed almost back to normal when, after a year of postponement, the 42nd edition of the Cirque de Demain festival was finally set to happen from January 27-30, 2022 in Paris, France. But history repeats itself even in the present. In early January, as the Omicron variant made waves and sent worldwide case numbers soaring again, French health officials moved rapidly to introduce a new round of restrictions on public gatherings. Left with a difficult choice, the organizers of the Cirque de Demain festival, under Chairman Alain M. Pacherie, held an emergency meeting to decide whether to proceed with the event. They knew there really was no choice; the health and safety of their artists and audience mattered more than having the event itself. Finally, on January 5, it was announced that ...