Contemporary Circus

Contemporary circus, or "cirque nouveau" as it is called in French speaking countries, is a performing art form developed in the later 20th century in which a story or a theme is conveyed through traditional circus arts. Although the art form was referred to as "cirque nouveau" at an earlier date in French speaking countries, the literal English translation, "new circus" is not widely used in favor of the more timeless sounding "contemporary circus".

History

The exact origin of contemporary circus is debated, however its beginnings are believed to be in Europe in the mid to late 1970sFact|date=June 2008. At first it was an underground art form that eventually became popular with larger audiences.

Cirque nouveau / New Circus is a performing arts movement that developed in the 1970s, simultaneously in France, Australia the West Coast of the U.S. and the U.K . There are no animals used in this type of circus and influences are drawn as much from contemporary culture as from circus history. Examples include Circus Oz forged in Australia in 1977 from SoapBox Circus and New Circus, both founded in the early 70's, The Pickle Family Circus [ [http://www.circuscenter.org/ The Pickle Family Circus] ] founded in San Francisco in 1975, and more recently Circus Burlesque from the U.K in 1980 and Nofitstate circus [ [http://www.nofitstate.org/ Nofitstate circus] ] in 1984 from Wales, Cirque du Soleil founded in Quebec, Canada in 1984, Archaos in 1986, Club Swing in 1994, through to more recent examples such as Teatro ZinZanni, founded in Seattle in 1998, Quebec's Cirque Éloize, Les 7 Doigts de la Main, also know as The 7 Fingers [ [http://www.les7doigtsdelamain.com/ The 7 Fingers] ] , and the West African (French Guinea - "Guinée") Circus Baobab [ [http://www.circusbaobab.org/ Circus Baobab] ] in the late 90's. The form includes other circus troupes such as the Le Cirque Imaginaire, later renamed Le Cirque Invisible both founded and directed by Victoria Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, the Tiger Lillies, Circus Monoxide, Acrobat, Dislocate [ [http://www.dislocate.net Dislocate] ] , RANGA Circus [ [http://www.rocknrollcircus.com/ RANGA Circus] ] (now CIRCA), and Throwdown, while The Jim Rose Circus and The Happy Sideshow are both interesting takes on the sideshow.

Swedish nouveau circus company Cirkus Cirkör was founded 1995. U.S. Company PURE Cirkus [ [http://www.purecirkus.com/ Company PURE Cirkus] ] under the Genre of Cirque Noir, was founded in 2004, and in Northern England, (United Kingdom), combining punk, rap, dance music, comedy, and daring stunts, Skewed Circus [ [http://www.komedykollective.com/skewedcircus.html Skewed Circus] ] delivers "pop-circus" genre entertainment to young urban audiences who have not had the opportunity to visit traditional circuses.

Artform

Oppositely to traditional circus, where acts are independent from each other, contemporary circus combines many different art forms to entertain and convey a story or theme. Such artforms include acrobatics, juggling, trapeze, acting, music and aerial silk. For economical reasons, contemporary circus productions is typically staged in theaters rather than in large outdoor tents. Music used in the performances is often composed exclusively for that performance and is often performed by live bands. Usually, animal acts are not a part of cirque nouveau, although some artists like Bartabas use horses for example.

Schools

Several circus schools help expand the number of contemporary circus companies. Among them: the National Circus School (Ecole Nationale de Cirque, Montreal), the Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque (Brussels), the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (Chalons-en-Champagne), the Lido (Toulouse), and the New York Circus Arts Academy.

Notes