First roundtable of a conference season: “What a circus!“

A series of theoretical discussions and lectures on contemporary circus.

ROUND-TABLE #1
Contemporary Circus and Theatre crossover : new trends and aesthetics in performing arts

In French and English, with simultaneous translation

Participants :

• Mrs Rosita Boisseau, , journalist at  Le Monde  – France
• Mrs Vanessa Silvy,  expert for Circus at French Institute in Paris
• Mr Philippe Quesne, , french Theater director invited for BITEF festival (Farm fatale)
• Mr Milan Manić, circus artist, founder of Cirkusfera  and artistic director  Cirkobalkana festival (Serbia)
• Mrs Catherine Faudry, cultural attaché at French institute in Serbia (moderator)

Mrs Maja Gojkovic, Vice Prime-Minister and minister of culture and communication – Serbia  (TBC)

Contemporary theater in Europe has been evolving for several decades towards interdisciplinarity and performance. The power of the text is accentuated, even replaced by the movement of bodies and visual and physical metaphors. These multiple dimensions of the theatrical experience are often fruit of the encounter of directors with the visual arts, music and dance. More recently, we have observed the rise in numbers of contemporary circus artists. Furthermore, the development of the contemporary circus implies a growing reflection of  directors concerning the dramaturgy of the body, virtuosity and risk. What effects do these crossovers have on the experience of artists and spectators? How do works evolve in this context? Can this crossover play a role in the renewal of audiences? How to talk about these works to different audiences? How to classify works with regard to copyright?  Should we multiply genres? This round table will also focus on how these new aesthetics influence the classification of genres to which institutions and audiences are accustomed. Finally, we shall also discuss how these questions resonate in Southeast Europe, where there are significant differences in status between circus and theater. And what could such interdisciplinarity bring to them both?

This roundtable is organized in cooperation with Cirkobalkana and BITEF festival, within the program Circus (Must)SEE: contemporary circus in Southeast Europe.