International Contemporary Circus Festival

Cirkuliacija 2022 

Duets

This year, it returned with an even greater injection of art. The theme of the event, which took place on June 4-19, duets were reflected both in the masterful performances and in the chosen Kaunas space. The main program of the event took place in Žemieji (Lower) and Aukštieji (Upper) Šančiai, which attracted foreign troupes from Sweden, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic and the Baltic region. As every year, part of the program was presented outside Kaunas: in Ukmergė, Prienai and Šventoji.

 

Every year, “Cirkuliacija” is rising higher and higher. This time, for the first time, the festival hosted events from four international contemporary circus networks: conferences, meetings, creative workshops for professionals, work-in-progress and pitch sessions, during which creators from the Baltic region were presented.

 

The 2022 program delved into the different relationships between two creators. Gildas Aleksa, artistic director of the “Cirkuliacija” festival, says that the performances are extremely carefully selected and profound: “You won’t think that circus is just entertainment. You will think about how much can be said through the circus.”

 

We started the festival with a wonderful circus family and their documentary circus performance “The Box” (a pair of acrobats from Sweden “Acrobalance”: Henrik Agger and Louise Bjurholm von Euler), and we ended with another family from France and their romantic comedy “In Joy and in Sorrow” (Cirque Aïtal (France)) in a huge circus tent near the Žalgiris Arena. In the middle of the program, the Belgians examined the most primitive, prehistoric discovery of man-man (the performance H O M A N, performers Collectif Malunés / Vincent Bruyninckx & Vejde Grind, the creators of “CUIR” (Arno Ferrera and Gilles Polet) immersed themselves in the search between horse riding, wrestling and romantic relationships. Chinese pole master Jesse Huygh and performer Rocio Garrote told a sensitive, personal story about his illness and dependence on a two-meter-long oxygen tube. And Czech artist Eliška Brtnická created a circus installation in one of the staircases of Šančiai.

 

In addition to the main program, the importance of this year’s festival became apparent in the European context. After a long break, the largest European contemporary circus and street theater network “Circostrada” decided to organize its general convention precisely in “Cirkuliacija”. A convention of such a level and size was held for the first time in the Baltic region. In the context of this program, we decided to present artists, organizations and their projects from the Baltic States – over a hundred professionals. This should push Lithuanian artists forward, and provide greater international visibility. This was also helped by the selection for the European platform “circusnext” that will take place during the festival. Artists from our region had the opportunity to get on the platform with their future projects and receive residencies and support to implement them. Another project with a strange name – “Samovar Circles” also took place during the festival. This is a “self-viral” uniting various minds from the Baltic and Nordic countries, during which new answers are sought to the immediate questions of the future in the context of modern circus.

 

Photos by Donatas Ališauskas