CIRCUS TODAY (#CIRCDARAMATEIX)

April 2014

Check here for the full schedule of #CIRCDARAMATEIX

Over the past few decades, it has become clear that the new style of circus is more than a passing fad. It is an ethical and aesthetic choice intrinsically linked to the life philosophy of a generation of artists who are increasingly moving away from the aesthetics and values of the past.

Nowadays, contemporary circus is as varied and multifaceted as the personalities of the people creating and performing it. As a performance discipline, circus has  always put technique, be it acrobatics or balancing acts, at the service of ideas and emotions. However, it has increasingly moved towards minimalism, a trend that is consistent with the fact that these days bold feats for the mere sake of being bold no longer represent the principal goal of artists or the main interest of audiences.

Though the natural ebb and flow of interest and the disappearance of venues do have an impact, but I believe these are only peripheral. Instead, I suspect that this tendency towards minimalism is mainly due to the fact that today’s generations of artists have reconnected with what drives human beings on a deep, basic level, and they wish to share it with spectators in an immediate and personal way. We’re currently seeing the proliferation of companies that put on small-scale shows in the ring or in small tents for a reduced number of spectators. The return to the ring marks a return to the circle, the most immediate and pure of all communicative spaces. There is a  lot of truth, a lot of personal experience in what these types of shows wish to convey. Obsessions, doubts, experiences, often transmitted through poetic language – what other language could it be? – that is as spontaneous as it is abstract.

The Mercat de les Flors presents a series of shows – pieces of distilled poetry – that vary greatly in terms of identity and style, but share an authenticity in terms of how they convey their authors’ message. At the  same time, they also provide an accurate look at a cross section of the tendencies dominating circus production in Catalonia and Europe today.

Jordi Jané

The schedule of #CIRCDARA MATEIX is complemented by a range of activities in different areas of the city:

Combinat de Circ i Lokal de risc a L’ATENEU POPULAR 9 BARRIS

Dia Mundial del Circ, organized by ASSOCIACIÓ DE PROFESSIONALS DEL CIRC DE CATALUNYA (APCC)

Xerrades, trobada professional i portes obertes a LA CENTRAL DEL CIRC

Tallers de Circ en família organitzats per la XARXA D’ESPAIS DE CIRC DE CATALUNYA (XECC)

LEANDRE. Rien à dire al CENTRE CULTURAL TERRASSA

CIA. FILIGRANES. Desencaixats (assaig obert) i Càpsula de Circ EstruchBar a L’ESTRUCH

Espectacle de la XIV promoció de l’escola de Circ ROGELIO RIVEL