Spaces of Circus

This issue of the magazine focuses on the notion of “space” in its many possible understandings, meanings, and shapes.

Space, in its most immediate, physical understanding, is crucial to circus and to the creative process of artists. Space lends its dimensions to the creation of meeting points with the public, and it can very well become a contributor to a performance. Essential in designing movement and building scenography, space impacts stage arts at all levels – creation, delivery, reception, and reflection.

Equally important is to consider space for its non-physical meanings in the arts and in circus particularly: the immaterial, imaginary, representational, political. Allowing space for diversity and inclusion; imagining other spaces, as an exercise of creative freedom; creating alternative spaces for cross-aesthetic work; designing new forms of creation with space and not just in space; challenging the formula “visible=present” – these are driving forces in the work of many contemporary circus artists today.