Cirkus Cirkör

In Residence:
October 27, 2015 - November 7, 2015
Discipline:
Performance, Theatre, Circus
Country:
Sweden

Tilde Björfors founded Cirkus Cirkör in 1995 and has been the driving force in establishing contemporary circus as an art form in Sweden. Björfors’s research project, combined with Cirkör’s visionary, educational, entrepreneurial and philosophical efforts, as well as its work within cultural policy, have had an influence far beyond the realm of circus. Tilde has been creative director for all of Cirkör’s productions and directed the majority of them, most recently Knitting Peace, 99% Unknown, Inside Out and Wear It Like a Crown, which has toured all over the world to wide acclaim. Out of our desire to create performances through exploratory, interdisciplinary and risk-filled processes in a world focused on quick results, Tilde Björfors and the creative team of Cirkus Cirkör have found ways to make that happen. Cirkus Cirkör have built partnerships for residencies and pre-productions, are part of various interdisciplinary research projects, and have established Cirkör LAB as a space for artistic research and innovations.

 

The next theme in Tilde Björfors’s research on circus arts is Borders. There are no borders in the modern mind. At the same time we are protecting our frontiers more than ever. We hear reports on refugees floating ashore, lives lost in attempts to be free. The political climate is getting harder for those who meet borders, and collide. Circus artists know few limits in pain, in risk, in what the human body can do. It is an art form with practices moving between the continents. Circus is entertainment, and can also be carrier of the most painful stories. Cirkus Cirkörwill work cross-border and transnational, with artists, illustrators and video projection mapping. Musicians influenced by Sami (Northern Sweden and Finland) and Romani folklore traditions will work with the movements of the circus artists.

The relationship to boundaries and risk is a constant theme in Björfors’s performances and research. She was the artistic head researcher at the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm with the research project Circus – Transcending borders in Art and Society (2008–2012). That project engaged circus artists and companies all over the world as experts. Assistant researchers from other scientific areas such as theatre, philosophy, education, ethnology, brain research, and psychology were involved. The research has led to methods and knowledge about the dimensions of the circus disciplines, about the risk and border-crossing aspects of the circus arts, and historically about the circus heart (the nomadism, innovations, risk and possibilities, freedom and discipline, etc). As a part of the research project a performance trilogy was created. Tilde’s working method has continued after the research project ended and after the production Knitting Peace that dealt with questions like “Is striving for world peace possible?”

Special thanks to Swedish Consulate in New York, Swedish Arts Council and Swedish Institute for their support.

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