Cirkuliacija 2024 

From May 30 to June 16, stories were told in the language of the circus in Lithuania for the eighth time. Two different performances were presented each weekend – three weekends, six stories, told 16 times.

“Three of them are world premieres. This means that thanks to many years of experience and training, we knew which artists would be the most interesting to Lithuanian audiences with their language and ingenuity. We are very happy that they chose our festival for their premieres. Lithuanian audiences will see these performances before audiences from other countries. I think we really have something to be proud of,” said G. Aleksa, emphasizing that this year’s program was being prepared for several years.

Another unexpected moment – ​​only one man will appear in the entire program, so this year’s festival will feature women creating contemporary circuses. G. Aleksa says that contemporary circus, like other performing arts, very often presents the standard of a young white man: “Last year we had the opportunity to question the European nature of the circus, and this year we will show that it does not belong only to one privileged gender. In the future, we hope to refute the myth that the circus belongs only to the young.”

The international festival “Cirkuliacija” took place in Vilnius, Nauja Vilnia, Kaunas, Lapės (Kaunas district), Tauragė, Elektrėnai and Šiauliai.

“Cirkuliacija” has already raised a contemporary circus audience in Lithuania who understands that the circus is not necessarily entertainment. It is an art that also speaks about serious problems: “Our audience is ready to accept serious performances, and not just come to the circus hoping to see a somersault.”

Its educational part is also growing along with the festival. This year, the educational program offers viewers to get to know the broader contexts of contemporary circus. French circus historian Jean-Michel Guy invites you to a two-day seminar, the essence of which is how to “read” a contemporary circus performance.

A seminar on attracting commercial funds was offered to cultural managers. US cultural operators are best versed in this area, so we invited Ukrainian-American Elena Siyanko, the artistic director of the New York-based center for contemporary circus, dance, and theater “PS21”. She shared her experience on how to maintain a cultural space that is highly connected to the local community and present the most famous artists without state or municipal funding.

Meetings with artists and discussions were also expected.

On the programme:

“Anchored in Air”, Head over Wheels (UK)

“Fora”, AR companies – Alice Rende (France)

“Konstrukt”, Circus Kolektiv (Croatia)

“Suddenly: and other ways to change”, OPUS company (Finland)

“À mesure – Handle with care”, Accompany ME (Italy / Lithuania / France)

“Julieta”, Gabriela Muñoz (México)

Seminar “Diversity of financing strategies: building more sustainable business models to secure the future of the organization”. Speaker: Elena Siyanko (USA)

Discussion “Redefining circus bodies: accessibility, inclusion and creative expression”. Participants: Jonny Leitch, Tilly Lee-Kronick and Phoebe Knight (Head over Wheels (UK)). Moderator: Gildas Aleksa (Lithuania)

Seminar “Circus as practices of hope”. Lecturer: Marie-Andrée Robitaille (Sweden)

Seminar “Reading Contemporary Circus Performance”. Lecturer: Jean-Michel Guy (France)

Discussion “Femininity / Motherhood in the Circus”. Participants: Dora Komeda (Circus Kolektiv, Croatia) and Kerttu Opus (OPUS company, Finland). Moderator: Marija Baranauskaitė-Liberman (Lithuania)

Photos by Donatas Ališauskas