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An Introduction to Contemporary Circus
Tomi Purovaara (ed.)
An Introduction to Contemporary Circus follows the dwindling paths of the development of contemporary circus. Its first part describes the acts, moments and events which have fashioned the genre into what it is today. In the latter part of the book, the reader will find articles on the history and current situation of circus in each of the Nordic countries.
Tomi Purovaara’s text on the history of contemporary circus was originally published in Finnish in 2005 and has been translated, updated, and expanded with a chapter on the Finnish context for this edition. The book also contains newly written texts by Camilla Damkjær together with Kiki Muukkonen about Sweden, Sverre Waage about Norway, and Stine Degerbøl and Katrien Verwilt about Denmark.
The book is intended for circus students, artists, spectators, researchers, festival directors and cir- cus funding decision-makers.
- Year of Publication 2012
- Number of Pages 261
- Height 18,8 cm.
- Width 19,8 cm.
- Weight 500 g.
Table of Contents
Foreword
11
Introductory Remarks by the Publisher
13
Part I: On the Foundation and History of Circus
15
Introduction
17
An Endless Circle Of Laughter And Play
17
Playful Circus
21
Laughter And Death
22
Circus before Circus
27
From Rituals To Roman Race Tracks
27
Prohibition And Processions
29
The Asian Miracle
30
Commedia Dell’arte And Prohibition
32
Towards Circus: An Explosion of Laughter
35
Enlightenment, Science And War
35
Modern Circus Is Born
36
British Equestrian Circus And Music Hall
38
European And American Forms Of Circus
42
France
43
America
45
Russia
49
The World Outside The Arena
50
20th Century Circus and Art’s Great Transformation
53
Avant-Garde Theatre And Circus
54
The Comic Eloquence Of Film
60
Physicality: A Relation Between Dance And Circus To Be Explored Later
62
The Defeat Of Circus
64
The Paradox Of Socialist Circus
65
Part II: The Definition of Circus
66
The Definition of Circus
73
The Performer
74
The Venue
77
The Performance
78
The Performance And Spectator
80
Circus As Organization
82
Part III: New Circus – Contemporary Circus
83
The Building Blocks of new Circus
89
Reflections Of Postmodernism And Popular Culture
89
New Forms Of Theatre And Dance
92
Artaud – The Disputed Godfather Of New Theatre And Circus
93
New Theatre Of The Old World
95
From Vietnam To Commedia Dell’arte – Street Theatre And Politics In America
97
France As A Breeding Ground For New Circus
100
French Modern Dance Becomes Independent
101
New Circus – Contemporary Circus
105
From Family Education To University – And To The Street
105
The Lost Circus Tent?
111
Virtuoso, Interpreter Or Artist?
113
Circus, Theatre, Dance
115
The Anatomy of Some Companies and Performances
121
Chaplin And Other Young Nomads
122
New Questions And Answers
125
From Theatre To Circus: Cirque Plume And Cirque Baroque
127
Images Of Horses In New Circus – Archaos And Zingaro
130
Cirque Du Soleil
133
Contemporary Juggling – and Jérôme Thomas
135
Laughter Of The New Clowning
139
Traces Of Animals
143
Contemporary Circus
145
The Common Journey Of The Performing Arts
145
Artistic Diversity
146
The Globalization Of Circus
148
Circus Integrates Into The Art Field
150
Networking Circus
151
Part IV: The Nordic Dimension of Contemporary Circus
87
Introduction (Tomi Purovaara)
157
Finnish Circus development – Miraculous People! (Tomi Puurovaara)
159
Finnish Circus Before Circus Finlandia
159
From An Agricultural Society To Urbanization
162
From The Depopulation Of The Countryside To Cultural Democracy
163
The New Generation Of Youth Circus
165
Pioneers Of Contemporary Circus
167
The Birth Of New Institutions
168
Society And Culture Politics Since The 1990s
169
From Youth Circus To The Theatre Academy Of Finland
170
Movement On The Circus Scaffold
171
Circus Goes Around
171
Miraculous People
173
A Chronological Panorama of Danish Contemporary Circus (Stine Degerbøl & Katrien Verwilt)
175
Introduction
175
1991–1995: Circus – Now Including Trained Chickens And Forklifts
175
1995–2000: Ferocity, Varieties And 1/2 A Penguin With French Fries
178
2000–2005; Contemporary Circus Is Here To Stay
182
2005–2009: Contemporary Circus Beyond Borders And On The Stage
187
Circus in Norway 2009 (Sverre Waage)
195
Circus And Norway: A Short Background Story
195
Traditional Circus In Norway
198
2010: Traditional Circus
200
The Growth Of Circus Art In Norway
201
Circus And Performance Art
203
New Circus/Contemporary Circus/Circus
206
First Attempts Of Organization
208
The Circus Village
209
A Diversity Of Circus Companies
210
The Future
215
Fragments of the History of Contemporary Circus in Sweden 1990–2010 (Camilla Damkjær & Kiki Muukkonen)
217
Introduction
217
— 1990
220
1990–1999
225
1999–2009
239
2010 – ?
249