Circus (in all its forms) appeals to audiences of all ages, it is universal in all aspects. Circus can be hilarious, thrilling, dangerous, is always risk taking and quite transporting from every day life. (Chenine Bhathena Artistic Programmer, CircElation)
The father of the circus as we might recognise it was Sergeant Major Philip Astley of the Fifteenth Dragoons. He was the son of a cabinetmaker from Newcastle-under-Lyme in England with a passion for horsemanship. In 1768 he devised a trick-riding exhibition to fund his riding school and set up near to Westminster Bridge in London. Astley pioneered the use of a ‘circus’, a ring of 42ft diameter in which he performed his tricks. The ring dimensions are still used today as they aid the riding tricks through centrifugal force. He later added a grandstand and roof, jugglers, acrobats and clowns. (Astley’s creation, ‘Billy Buttons’ was an inept tailor whose antics while trying to mount and ride a horse soon became a traditional clown routine for circuses everywhere).
In 1859 Frenchman and gymnast Jules Leotard constructed a bar over his swimming pool, and voila, became the first person to perform a flying trapeze routine with Cirque Napoleon in Paris. His act (and one-piece bodice) became a fixture of circus thereafter.
Throughout the 20th century, circus in the UK remained relatively static in terms of innovation. The skills were learned at an early age, probably from the circus family that you had been born into. If you had the romantic notion to run away with the circus, and were accepted, you could train ‘on the road’. In spite of the lifetime dedication to learning the skills required, circus in the UK was seen primarily as popular, commercial entertainment, very much child and family oriented. It was not something that the serious arts aficionado would contemplate. Add to this the rise of television and increasing controversy over animal rights, and audiences drifted away from the circus.
In 1984, the circus revolution that was Cirque du Soleil hit the world, ‘the most awe-inspiring visual and aural spectacles on the planet’ – Stewart McGill. Suddenly it was hip to go to the circus. Canadian Cirque du Soleil has paved the way for a circus revolution and raised the industry into the realms of an ‘art form’.
Training for the circus is getting much easier to access and is developing credibility and standards of excellence via accredited courses. The Circus Space, housed in a converted power station in central London, is one of Europe’s largest centres for contemporary circus arts. They offer a unique 2-year degree course in association with Central School for Speech and Drama, and provide a Professional Development Centre for performers offering a wide range of courses from physical comedy to flying trapeze. Circomedia, located in Bristol, offers full-time professional training to beginners and professionals including a 1-year foundation course and OCR diploma in Circus Skills and Physical Theatre, as well as summer intensives, teacher training programmes and numerous evening classes
Circ.Elation was established in 2000 in Sheffield and has since developed a 3-year programme aimed at circus professionals. Through workshops for discussions and practical skills they aim to provide a creative forum for existing circus artists – performers and directors to share and learn from artists from other disciplines – notably theatre and dance, ‘ to develop and improve their skills and knowledge in the creation of new and innovative collaborative work.’
Such new training and innovations are changing the face of circus, encouraging multi-skilled circus performers to blend and combine their physical feats with dance and theatricality to create ‘contemporary circus theatre’ that often explores a theme or tells a story. I spoke to Chenine Bhathena of Circ.Elation about some of the pertinent issues for contemporary circus arts and about the work of Circ.Elation. I asked her first to define the term ‘contemporary circus theatre’:
‘Contemporary circus takes a classical art form and re-interprets it in a contemporary form – the best example is Ballet and Dance. Both are different and equally as entertaining – yet work alongside each other, broadening audiences. Contemporary circus seeks to merge with dance, theatre, live art, contemporary music, film etc, to continue to take risks and to experiment. The work of Cirque Du Soleil is classical in form; it is the West End version of Circus. Britain’s Company F.Z, Gravity & Levity and Gandini Juggling projects (for example) create new routes for young artists looking to create new forms of circus performance. Wales’s No Fit State Circus are leading the way with high-energy big top contemporary circus, creating a club vibe in a new and exciting architectural space. De La Guarda (Argentina) and Legs On The Wall (Australia) are stunning examples of where international artists with circus skills have combined to great effect with theatre and dance.’
Public perception of circus is perhaps still dominated by the more traditional, classical model: the animals, the clowns, the hire wire etc. Is the old model still popular or should it move aside for the ‘contemporary circus theatre’?
‘The more the better, the broader the field the more opportunity for artists. Within every art form there are types. Within dance we have ballet, contemporary dance, dance theatre, musical dance theatre, jazz, hip-hop, folk etc. All types should be nurtured and allowed its place and it is proven that there is a place for all. Zippos have been creating great family shows for years and are still flourishing. Big Apple Circus in New York create great classic circus shows, with high level artists that reaches more and more audiences each year, despite the global success of incoming shows such as Cirque Du Soleil.’
‘I should also mention that clowning has enjoyed its own art form development with classic shows such as Snowshow co-existing alongside Nola Rae (UK), Avner the Eccentric (USA) and Leo Bassi (Spain) as well as the new breed of surreal/contemporary clown/physical comedy theatre – Yllana (Spain), Spymonkey, Ridiculusmus, Peepolykus (all UK).’
How important is that element of spectacle, the wow factor, in the success of circus?
‘It is the cornerstone; circus is about risk. However, some artists/companies are coming from a different aesthetic wanting to incorporate their training in dance or theatre and to bring circus skills in, ie Company F.Z are 2 artistic directors John Paul Zaccarini is trained in dance (has worked previoulsy with DV8) and Flick Ferdinando in theatre (has been seen in Peepolykus). They are looking to make work, where the audience is taken on a journey exploring themes/issues, incorporating skills to tell this story. The aim is not purely to wow people with skills but to enhance the show with high level/quality physical/acrobatic skill. It is ‘a quieter form of circus’ (Sean Gandini) rather than the loud form we are accustomed to. One thing is absolutely key that skill levels are still very important, and along with this not only does the contemporary sector demand high skill levels, but also new skills such as high quality training in dance, theatre etc.’
In the Arts Councils Strategy and Report on Circus document, one of the issues they mention that needs attention is cultural diversity: ‘anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a perceived lack of access, particularly in contemporary circus, for performers and audiences from culturally diverse backgrounds’. In what ways are CircElation and other circus training bodies able to address the issue of cultural diversity in circus?
‘It is true that this is still an area of the work that needs development. It is not that, for example, the Asian or African communities have no sense of the work. These communities are regular attendees of circus, and also we have witnessed some great physical/acrobatic circus from these continents in the UK. We can only try to encourage leadership within these communities and also try to encourage participation in training and professional development. All courses at Circ.Elation are open to all. We distribute information as widely as we can, within budgets. The regional Arts Councils are keen to positively support artists from diverse communities that apply for support/subsidy to participate in Circ.Elation. Maybe we need a Phoenix Dance or a Shobana Jeyasingh equivalent in circus to really lead the way.’
Are there particular companies or practitioners that you feel are making an exceptional contribution to the art form through their innovation?
‘In the UK over the past few years the companies really leading the way in contemporary circus performance, which is my area of knowledge are: Company F.Z , Gravity & Levity, Scarabeus, Nofit State Circus, Generating Company, Gandini Juggling Project, Contemporary Clowning Projects Isabel Rocamora. This does not included circus inspired street theatre (Stalker, Strange Fruit etc).’
Thanks to Chenine Bhathena. For further information about circus training and some of the companies mentioned, please see:
www.circelation.co.uk
www.circomedia.com
www.thecircusspace.co.uk
www.cssd.ac.uk (Central School of Speech and Drama)
www.zipposcircus.com
www.companyfz.com
www.contemporaryclowningprojects.com
www.laban.co.uk
