Acknowledgements List of contributors Introduction: welcome to the wonderland of contemporary circus Franziska Trapp Part ICircus meaning 1Circus does not exist Jean-Michel Guy 2 "La Putyka" by Cirk La Putyka:a glimpse at Czech contemporary circus Veronika Štefanová Part IICircus practice 3 On mutations of forms, style, and meaning: from a traditional to a contemporary trapeze act Sandy Sun Interviewed by Franziska Trapp and Riikka Juutinen 4 Articulating hand-balancing: finding space for critical self-transformation Camilla Damkjaer 5 Extreme symbiosis Louise von Euler Bjurholm and Henrik Agger 6 Hamlet: to have written or not to have written for the tightwire Louis Patrick LerouxTranslated from French by Anna Vigeland and Louis Patrick Leroux 7 Verticality, gravity, sense of balance. Transmitting a technique, conveying a sensation: practices and discourses of circus arts teachers Agathe Dumont 8 Reading circus: dramaturgy on the border of art and academia Franziska Trapp 9 UpSideDown circus and space Graphic Recordings by Andreas Gärtner Part IIICircus culture 10 Circus between technique and technology: heideggerian "enframing" and the contested space of free expression Sebastian Kann 11 Chaplin, Brecht, Fo: toward a concept of epic clowning Gaia Vimercati 12 To walk the tightwire Ante Ursic 13 The spatiality of Australian contemporary circus Kristy Seymour 14 Cheerful, nostalgic, melancholic: mood in circus Peta Tait Index Contributors Louise von Euler Bjurholmand Henrik Agger Two acrobats from Stockholm Sweden, educated at Moscow State School of Circus, who have worked together since 2001. Louise graduated 2013 from the program new performative practices at the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm (DOCH) with a Master's in choreography with specialization in Circus. The master's program at DOCH was the starting point for the research project "The art of working in pairs, a deeper look into our practice" which began in the summer of 2011 and resulted in the performance and the booklet called Extreme Symbiosis. Henrik also went to the Mime Acting Program at Teaterho¨gskolan Stockholm(Stockholm university of the arts), and has been involved in the establishment of "New Circus" in Sweden as one of the original artists in the creation of Cirkus Cirko¨r in 1995. As freelance artists, Henrik and Louise have been working with companies such as the Russian State Circus and Cirkus Cirko¨r. They have also been producers of their own performances. Henrik and Louise’s work is based on research, and they always include one or two question statements in their creative processes. Physical expression is at the center, and their Circus discipline, Pair Acrobatics, is often the starting point. Camilla Damkjaer, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in Performing Arts, Department of Performing Arts, Stockholm University of the Arts. Camilla Damkjaer’s research concerns the performing arts, movement practices, philosophies of the body and first-person methodologies of research. Her research focuses on the analysis of the phenomenal and socially constructed experiences circus, dance, and yoga. Theoretically, her work draws, among other things, phenomenology, Deleuzian scholarship, feminist, and post-colonial theory. She is also particularly concerned with the historical, discursive, and geo-political implications involved in performing arts and bodily practices. Agathe Dumont, PhD, is a Professor of artistic education at the School of Art and Design in Angers (ESAD TALM). Her research focuses on gesture and artistic work and she is particularly interested in the paths and practices of circus and dance artists. Winner of two research grants from the French Ministry of Culture, she is a member of the French collective of circus researchers and has contributed to the recent publication of several books on contemporary circus: Le cirque en transformation. Identités et dynamiques professionnelles (Cordier, Dumont, Salaméro & Sizorn, EPURE: 2019) and The Cambridge Companion to Circus (Arrighi & Davis, Cambridge University Press: 2021). She is also associated researcher to circusnext (2014–2022). Andreas Gärtner began his professional career as a freelance illustrator in 2004. In 2012, he graduated with a master’s degree in design and a specialization on illustration. When he entered into an associated partnership with Kommunikationslotsen in 2013, he put his professional focus on the field of graphic recording. Together with Martin Markes, he founded “Die Zeichner” in 2014. In 2016, he became a lecturer at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. In the same year, he expanded his portfolio to include work as a speaker on the topic of creativity. Jean-Michel Guy is a sociologist, author, director, dramaturge, and teacher of critical analysis. From 1980 until his retirement in 2021, he was a research engineer at the French Ministry of Culture (Department of Studies, Forecasting, Statistics and Documentation) where he conducted studies on cultural practices and representations, and audiences (for cinema, theater, dance, and the circus). In parallel, he worked and continues to work in a wide range of fields in the contemporary circus: writing and directing shows, writing articles and books, advising on dramaturgy, teaching and leading research laboratories. Sebastian Kann (he/him) is an independent artist and researcher dwelling in the interstices of circus, dance, and performance. Physical experiment lies at the heart of his work, which often interrogates the ideological entanglements of the body. Playing across different media—on stage, in print, and in video—Sebastian’s often collaborative practice is quadruple-anchored by intuition, irony, ambivalence, and a deep love for big Theory. Having studied at l’École nationale de cirque and Utrecht University, he is now based in Tiohtia:ke/Montréal. Louis Patrick Leroux is a Full Professor in both departments of English and French Studies and Associate Dean of Research at the Faculty of Arts and Science, Concordia University, Montréal. His research spans from theatre to contemporary circus and has involved research-creation and cultural discourse analysis. He was elected to the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada. Recent academic books include: Contemporary Circus with Katie Lavers and Jon Burtt (Routledge, 2020), Cirque Global: Québec’s Expanding Circus Boundaries, co-edited with Charles Batson (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016) and Le jeu des positions. Discours du théâtre québécois with Hervé Guay (Nota Bene, 2014). Forthcoming books include: Le cirque social : son rôle, ses pratiques, pédagogies et aspirations with Jacinthe Rivard and Mathilde Perahia (PU Laval) and Estie toastée des deux bords : Les formes populaires de l’oralité chez Victor-Lévy Beaulieu, with Sophie Dubois (PU Montréal). Dr Kristy Seymour (she/her) is an emerging scholar and professional circus artist, with over 20 years of experience in the Australian contemporary circus sector. Her main research areas are autism and circus, Australian contemporary circus, and circus performance as art form. Throughout her career, Kristy has worked across various aspects of the circus sector as a performer, trainer, artistic director, general manager, and producer. Her research and practice on circus and autism is widely regarded as a “best practice” approach. She has worked extensively in the youth circus sector leading a team of inspiring artists as the Head Trainer and Artistic Director of Flipside Circus in Brisbane 2004–2010. Working as a creative producer and choreographer, she has collaborated with leading arts organizations, venues, and festivals such as with Strut n Fret Production House, Brisbane Powerhouse, Creative Generations, Woodford Folk Festival, Brisbane Festival, and Adelaide Fringe Festival and Festival 2018 (Commonwealth Games 2018). In 2012, Kristy completed her Honours thesis “How Circus train
