By developing street circus into site-specific shows with hidden poetry, the team behind the Creative Europe project“Together! A Circus Invitation” hopes to find and create common ground through art with local community members in the European Capitals of Culture Elefsina (GR) and Veszprem (HU), 2023. Keep reading to learn more about the project – and where and when to see its next installment.

Creating and performing in public spaces has been common practice in the world of circus since the beginning. But creating a show inspiredby the public space and incorporating its features into the performance is a relatively new movement.  SITE-SPECIFIC CIRCUS SHOWS that give meaning and life to the space they inhabit have appeared in the past 15-20 years.

When putting up a circus show in a theater or in a classic circus environment, every participant, from technicians to artists, works in a well-known, pre-set environment that is neutral by nature. This neutrality helps that magic of the circus (or theatre) manifest. However, all the skill sets meant to work and shine under specific lights and in a black-box setting can lose their sparkle if placed in the center of a crowd in a museum or on the main square. Thus, site-specific circus shows provide a possibility for artists to step outside their comfort zones, to find themselves immersed in an environment that encourages experimentation, the fusion of art forms, and innovative approaches to performance. The artist’s ego may be shaken if all eyes are not on them when they double salto. But once one overcomes this, endless possibilities arise for attracting different types of audiences, even people who otherwise hardly or never visit the theater or the circus.

When putting up a show in a non-neutral space, for example in a museum, an archaeological site, a city hall, a forest, an institute, a library, etc., it becomes a priority to give meaning to the unique characteristics of the given space, otherwise the environment will not highlight, but weaken the show. The aim of site-specific performances is to create a flourishing unity between the performance act and the surroundings, to bring the venue to life not only by using the spatial characteristics of the site, but also by being inspired by its history and cultural context. 

The keyword here isdialogue. With our 2023 project “Together! A Circus Invitation,” we take this one step further: site-specific circus shows imply a sensitive approach to not only the space we perform in, but also to the audience. We enter the realm of the mysteries of being together with other humans in a special space, and the human aspect becomes a priority. The show itself becomes an invitation to be present, to participate. 

Our project works around the axis of venue-circus-society, where cooperation, understanding, and handling human connections are at the forefront of the creation process and the performance. We strive to create dialogues between different segments of society, using the language of circus. Dialogues between the artists, the audience, the space, the authorities and the artistic outcome.

We believe that as a result of these dialogues, our views on humanity expand and participants can see more clearly where there is a need to shift focus. When creating a dialogue, when wanting to learn from one another and the space around us, we should search for and find common ground. If the focus is on misunderstandings and differences, then it is less likely that the site-specific circus show will reach its goals. In order to make such a show successful and meaningful, adaptation and listening are of key importance. Listening and understanding can be difficult for artists and directors as well as for authorities and bureaucrats. This is why site-specific shows are almost always political – using a public space owned by the authorities and the citizens brings forth a political aspect. Site-specific shows evoke the essence of coexistence, communal work and civil participation, and therefore can bring an added value of highlighting issues of the given community and public space. This can benefit the local community (civilians and authorities), and can provide valuable lessons for those who want to get them. In order to fulfill our goals and create real dialogues between otherwise secluded groups of people, in our project, community and audience engagement becomes a part of the creation procedure. Our site-specific circus shows often involve local residents, organizations, and audiences in a participatory and inclusive way. The creators and participants of  “Together! A Circus Invitation” are deeply involved in all this throughout the creation of a series of site-specific circus shows in the streets of the EU’s designated European Capitals of Culture for 2023, Elefsina, Greece, and Veszprém, Hungary. 

We have finished the first part of our project, which was set in the Greek town of Elefsina. This is a city with heavily industrialized spaces and only a few parks. Residents were often skeptical about performing in public spaces, and most have never seen a site-specific circus show before. However, we presented five shows in the tight frame of eight days. Each show was different in style. For example, there was a “live museum” show, an event where circus artists created “motion pictures”; their solos and duos in interaction with the space were scattered throughout the venue, and spectators could walk around freely and marvel at them.  Another show was connected to the inauguration of a playground. The full-on final show was a large-scale spectacular in which we incorporated all the buildings and sculptures surrounding us with wall dance, fire, acrobatics, and much more. 

We have learnt so much! The international participants of this creation process coming from Greece, Hungary, Ukraine, and France enriched not only their artistic capacities but their human nature as well. The project was especially revelatory for the Ukranian participants. Not only was their perception sharper because they came from war-stricken Kyiv, but as members of a traditional circus school, the Kyiv Municipal Academy of Performing and Circus Arts, they have never worked in the style of contemporary circus before. Working closely together with people whose lives are threatened on an everyday basis sharpened and sensitized the perception of the whole group: everyday events, domestic as well as public, appeared in a different light to all of us.

The next phase of the project will be in Veszprém from 16-23 September. Whether you are an artist, a producer or a director within the circus world, we invite you to take part personally or watch our events online. Furthermore, we invite you to get out there, get to know the space you live in and its people, and discover yourself and the mysteries of being together.

Main Partners of the Project:
Hungarian Juggling Association (HU). Project Manager: Gallyas, Veronika
Monokyklo (GR). Project Manager: Mota, Marianthi
Kyiv Municipal Circus Academy (UK). Project Manager: Araya, Nina
Culture en Movements (FR). Artistic director: Warette, Albin

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Image credits: MYSTERY 16 | Together ELEUSIS 2023, Photo @johnkouskoutis. Images shared with us by Veronika Gallyas.

Veronika Gallyas

Veronika Gallyas is a producer; circus instructor; and founder of the Hungarian Juggling Association and Inspiral Circus Center in Budapest, which are the important platforms for independent circus artists and practitioners. Through them, she has initiated many European circus collaborations in the field of art, education and social work. Veronika aims to fulfill the mission of spreading contemporary circus in Hungary.

Albin Warette

Albin Warette is an actor, author, artistic director and teacher for professionals and amateurs in the fields of theatre, circus, street theatre, side specifics and theatrical improvisation. He always developed his crafts through a variety of training experiences including classical theater methods, physical theater, clown, mask, and contemporary training. He remains strongly involved in that pluralistic approach. He discovered the circus in 1999 by becoming a professor of theatre in Lido, Circus Arts Center of Toulouse. It is here that he adapted his theatrical techniques to the special performance demands of the new circus. He has since trained professionals at various other institutions internationally, and is engaged in various European projects. Since this time he has developed his own compagnie, Cie Millimétrée, involved into a collective of creators, Culture en Mouvements. He has staged site-specific shows in various places all around the world as well as shows marrying circus and theatre arts, working with several companies.

Marianthi Mota

Marianthi Mota is a youth and social circus trainer, field coordinator, and European funds executive and production manager. She is a professional dancer and choreographer and started her Circus career in Greece around 2000, when Circus was quite unknown and very narrowed around nomad tents and wild animals. Throughout the years, she has worked constantly in the growth of Circus in Greece, bringing the ideas of Social Circus, Circus Pedagogy and the Site- Specific methodologies in making shows in her country.