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Chenine Bhathena and Leila Jancovich are experienced arts managers who have led a professional development programme for circus artists since 1999. With contemporary circus firmly back on the agenda with audiences, producers and funders, they discuss the impact and importance of professional development opportunities on artistic and sector development.

Two circus performers suspended in mid-air

British Contemporary Circus is more popular today than ever before. Large, diverse audiences are attending; there is a growing population of inventive artists working across all artforms; theatres and festivals are programming the best of International and British work. In 2007 alone we have seen the London International Mime Festival’s programme of emerging artists at The Linbury Studio, and a range of international artists at SBC and the Barbican; The Lyric Hammersmith’s extraordinary production of Metamorphosis; the first International Circus Festival since 1989 at the Roundhouse; Circus Space’s collaboration with Cirque Bijou and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School; Nigel Jamieson’s ‘Honourbound’ at The Barbican; James Thiérée’s production of ‘Au Revoir Parapluie’ at Sadlers Wells and on national tour; and, on the larger scale, Cirque Du Soleil’s first large-scale regional tour.

As theatres and producers continue to whet their appetites for this eclectic mix of performance to tantalise their audiences and to encourage young people’s attendance, a number of organisations around the country are looking at how best to support emerging British circus artists. These artists are looking to develop new artistically creative and rigorous work, using physical skills which they have been developing all their adult lives, and often much of their youth, with theatre and dance choreographies.

Developing infrastructure

The infrastructure of Contemporary Circus is growing. Arts Council England (ACE) led on the first piece of Youth Circus Mapping in 2007, as part of a DCMS-funded programme on young people and participatory theatre. A Youth Circus Co-ordinator has been appointed to lead on the development and professionalisation of a national infrastructure for youth circus. In London there is a biannual International Youth Circus Festival led by Albert and Friends Instant Circus, with an integral exchange programme between young people from youth circuses across the world. Here, young people experience professional development under the guidance of youth circus teachers and leading international artists. They see each other’s productions and gain inspiration through learning new skills and techniques, and developing a more critical vocabulary. Other opportunities include Zippo’s National Touring Academy and Swamp Trust’s programme of youth circus in the community in Sheffield.

As young people become adult, they are offered career progression from Circomedia in Bristol and Circus Space in London (part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama). These are the leading training schools for circus artists, offering skills training alongside performance classes, and fine-tuning students for a career in circus arts. Both schools offer their students a chance to create professional work under the direction of leading artists and directors from theatre and dance. Both have produced some of our leading artists, including John Paul Zaccarini, Matilda Leyser and Ockham’s Razor, who are developing their own work playing with skills, equipment, technical and artistic vocabularies. Many young semi-professional artists leaving circus school go on to apprenticeships or jobs with British and international companies.

Developing Circelation

Once out in the ‘real world’, artists lose the safety of the playground. There is more pressure to create and deliver high quality work quickly. Often they have been under-exposed to the worlds of theatre, dance and other live arts, due to the pressure of their training schedule. Even though spaces for artistic development have sprung up around the country, including Green Top in Sheffield, The Hangar in London and the Albany Centre in Bristol, experimenting safely is still a concern.

In 1999, Circelation was developed from initial conversation with Sheffield Crucible and Green Top Circus Centre, in response to the growing number of emerging and established circus-trained artists looking to challenge perceptions of circus and to create new physically inspired work. These artists were challenging the traditional circus image to bring powerful physical and emotional vocabularies together to create entertaining, anarchic, deeply affecting, inspiring and quite stunning performance. The emphasis of circus performance has always been on the visual aesthetic and the physical embodiment of skill, but over the past ten years many British artists using circus skills have broken free and begun to make interdisciplinary work. They have often brought a stronger narrative into their performance, as well as playing with new media and voice.

Circelation provides artists with a safe space for experimentation. It brings circus artists together with artists from other forms of theatre, dance and live performance, to open their eyes to new ways of working. It explores themes such as space, risk and storytelling. It offers a valuable networking opportunity for artists to meet and form new partnerships, collaborations and working relationships. It supports artists in thinking about the work, and encourages open and honest debate about possibilities and opportunities.

In February 2002, Circelation was cited in ACE’s ‘Strategy Report on Circus in England’ as a notable professional development programme, complementing the work of Circus Space (London) and Circomedia (Bristol). The report recommended that to nurture and develop this exciting artform, support for initiatives which develop circus practice at every level and expertise in the art form should be prioritised.

The wider picture

Circelation has focused on developing new inter-disciplinary performance vocabularies, bringing highly renowned artists such as Kathryn Hunter, Rose English, Lucy Bailey, Liam Steel, John Wright and Nigel Charnock to facilitate play and exploration with circus artists from UK and overseas. Regional programmes have now begun to develop around the country. CAST, Theatre Bristol’s producer for circus and street arts, produces the ‘What If?’ development programme, which has provided professional development opportunities for circus and street artists in the South West. In the East Midlands, Cirque Lab brought some of the leading regional theatre, live art and dance artists together with a circus director to explore integrating circus techniques into their work and develop powerful visual storytelling and imagery.

Critical debate, essential to professional development, was a large part of the programme for Circus Futures, a two-day conference in Bristol in 2006, and the Circus Front Festival in London in 2007. These have led to some interesting developments including new dialogues between artists and promoters and increased awareness in touring and producing the work.

Circelation’s next set of laboratories will be held in Spring 2008, facilitated by Brenda Angiel (aerial dance), Lee Simpson and Gavin Marshall (techniques in storyboarding), and Hilary Westlake (new circus narratives). Circelation is also working with producing theatres to develop opportunities for circus directors to create new work. It is enabling Artistic Directors to understand how circus techniques can be integrated with other artforms and the opportunities it provides for developing audiences.

Associate Circus Directors are currently placed at The New Wolsey in Ipswich and Contact Theatre in Manchester to initiate ideas, develop regional understanding of the possibilities of the work and support audience development initiatives. One of these directors is leading on a week-long laboratory as part of the LEAP Dance Festival in Liverpool. Argentina’s leading aerial dance choreographer Brenda Angiel explore the creation of aerial dance as well as participating in a critical debate on the nature of aerial dance as part of the Liverpool 08 programme.

The combination of organisations, producers and agencies supporting professional development in all of its guises goes to show not only the value of this support at all stages of a career, but also how this supports artists in realising their ambitions and goals. Stimulating and inspiring, engaging and motivating, professional development offers this sector of artists the opportunity to develop a new performance vocabulary, to delight in experimentation and to find comfort when all goes wrong. It is surely an essential part of an artist’s life to keep fresh and to be reinvigorated and to remain at the forefront of creativity.

Circus links

http://www.circelation.co.uk

http://www.thecircusspace.co.uk

http://www.circomedia.com

http://www.circusarts.org.uk

http://www.albertandfriendsinstantcircus.co.uk

http://www.zipposcircus.co.uk/aca/aca.htm

http://www.greentop.org

http://www.swamptrust.org.uk

http://www.theatrebristol.net

http://www.roundhouse.org.uk

http://whats-on/series/circus-front

http://www.circusfutures.org

http://www.hangaruk.com

Chenine Bhathena currently leads on Contemporary Circus Development at Arts Council England, London. Leila Jancovich is a Senior Lecturer in Event Management at Leeds University.

w: http://www.circelation.co.uk