Circus and its Other 2024: a conference on difference, solidarity and mobility in the circus arts
The Circus And Its Others (CAIO) research project is a travelling colloquium focusing on the vast issues of otherness in the circus. A North American colloquium, the first edition of which was held in Montreal in 2016, it brings together researchers and artists from all over the world, always in collaboration with a local player and often also a festival.
The latest edition of this transnational circus research project took place in Bogotá in early March 2024, organized by Karen Fricker and Charles Batson, with Olga Lucia Sorzano, researcher and founder of the arts promotion organization Arte Motion. The colloquium coincided with the inaugural edition of an international and Colombian circus festival in Bogotá: Achura Karpa. Both events were held at the same downtown location, providing a genuine opportunity for interaction between research and practice, scholars and artists (who are sometimes both, of course!). Learn more about the CAIO project and community, and CAIO in Colombia, through a podcast.
The Achura Karpa festival was supported by the Ministry of Culture, and the dual events aimed to highlight the richness and vibrancy of Colombian circus arts. The Colombian Minister of Culture inaugurated the colloquium with a speech.
The colloquium focused on South American circus (notably from Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil), with presentations delivered in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, and simultaneously translated by interpreters.
Many presentations (speeches, orientations, reflections, and communications) addressed the unique characteristics of South American circus and the importance of recognizing its history and identity compared to Canadian and European circus. There is a desire to "decolonize" the practice and assert a different circus culture. Often more engaged and political, South American circus considers itself a true tool for social emancipation and a platform for genuine expression. The clown, or "payaso," is a significant figure here, using the persona to express what might not be possible without it. Colombian circus thus aligns closely with physical theater. The term "social circus" is debated and less embraced in this part of the world.
The program included a desire to move away from hegemonic circus, which seems to have encroached on the ability of these Southern countries to embrace a circus of different colors. The colloquium represents an important and public step, between idealism and action, in recognizing a Southern circus, including Colombian circus. According to Olga Sorzano, it is now essential to view circus from the South and contribute to circus research and heritage from the perspectives, politics, cultures, and histories of the South, as it has been written and represented by the North until now. This involves inventing their own stories and research methods, grounding reflections in non-Western philosophies closer to their culture, and recognizing other influences (shamanic, capoeira, rituals, circular writing, etc.).
There is no opposition between traditional and contemporary circus, but a connection with history. An emphasis is placed on ancestral forms of acrobatics and a reconnection with spiritual practices that can be akin to circus practices. Indigenous communities (from Mexico and Colombia) are invited to speak and perform their rituals.
Furthermore, Bogotá will "soon" have a training, rehearsal, and exchange space inspired by the 104 in Paris, at the Estacion La Havana, next to Circo Para Todos (a circus school founded by Felicity Simpson).
Another recurring theme of the conference, both in the North and South, is the (lack of) presence of circus in universities and the need to integrate it to ensure its recognition, preservation, and future. This also involves discussions about pedagogies that are more inclusive, less focused on innovation and productivity, and based on longer timelines.
The colloquium demonstrated a strong desire for collaboration. It is primarily a gathering of a small transnational community that meets every 2-3 years, recognizing each other, observing evolution, and increasingly wanting to be together, sharing reflections and practices. The theme of the Keynote (a one-hour presentation to stimulate reflections) is solidarity.
Spread over four days this year, alongside workshops, performances, and screenings, the CAIO colloquium has grown significantly since its inception. All participants agree: we want more, even more! It is enriching, stimulating, and vibrant. There is a real sense of community in practices that develop and progress, open up and mature. Sub-networks also flourish, based on research themes, locally or among young researchers.
In conclusion, the organizers left a few terms to stimulate reflections:
- To re-signify, one must first signify
- Break the rules but also think about which rules to maintain
- Change happens in relationships
- Genealogies rather than linearities
- Local, global, international histories, present, past, tensions, and contradictions
- Diversity and change arise from reflecting on complexity
- Questioning at the heart of development
- Risastencia (laughter resistance)
- Doing everything is doing with
- Beyond the frame is the most interesting place to be
- Solidarity
- Ritual
- Practice
- Contemporaneity
- North/South
- "America Together"