Circus kickoff with gala evening and seminar
Friday the 8th of September will be festive in Stadshallen in Lund when Sweden's new International Circus Festival Southern Sweden Circus Festivall is launched. It will be a full evening in the enchanting world of circus and there will be mingle, artists, music and pranks but also opportunities to find out how business and associations can participate during a circus festival. For a festival is not only what happens on stage, but it is also an umbrella project in many areas. This can be about audience development, technical solutions and infrastructure where new concepts and solutions can be tested.
- We want to invite business and associations to create a new context in which the circus does not work in isolation but is part of something bigger, says Lina B Frank, circus director Circus South. At a circus festival you can get to know the circus but also meet each other, get inspired and get new ideas.
Historically, the circus has been a place where technological innovations have entered into the business model. An example was when circus was once one of the first businesses to have electric lights and audiences were attracted by the opportunity to experience the future.
- Over time, the classical circus became more nostalgic, while the contemporary circus has stood for the innovative, says Lina B Frank. Now it's a new era, where the old and the new can blend together. The innovative, contemporary circus needs to draw knowledge from and merge with the circus heritage to move it forward. There is much to do here, while taking into account sustainability, climate change and biodiversity.
During the circus event, Cirkus Syd will present visions for the circus in different areas but also listen to what is demanded in the network. Innovation is one of many areas.
- The circus has always pushed the limits of what is possible and constantly works with risk-taking. With us, no idea is too crazy and everything is taken seriously.
During the festival, circus Brazil Jack will be a major collaborator. In 2023, the circus became more environmentally friendly by becoming a largely battery-powered circus in collaboration with Atlas Copco where you can run the show almost without fossil fuels.
One area that the circus festival and Cirkus Syd will certainly work with is cyclical learning in the workplace. It involves transferring skills in all professional roles — such as operations managers, visionaries, project managers, technicians and riggers. This is what Cirkus Syd wants to do in a way that gives space for the new generation to be involved in shaping their professional roles.
The circus also wants to build expertise in tent technology to be able to develop the tents of today and the future. A dream for Cirkus Syd is to create a new type of tent that becomes part of a more sustainable and climate-smart way of organizing circuses. Lina says that the warmer climate means that for the first time ever Nordic circuses need to use air conditioning in the tent — but it is hoped that a better environment could be created through more climate-smart solutions with new permeable materials in the tent fabric.
- We have concrete needs for innovation from the outside to solve our challenges, and we would like to participate in projects where we can collaborate with experts. We hope to know who in Lund we can connect with and where we can find focal points.
The circus is thus an environment where innovations are needed, but there is also much to learn from the way the circus works.
- I think it would be interesting with projects about circus and rehabilitation. Those circus performers who break a leg, neck or back and are told they may never walk again can often still come back within a couple of years,” says Lina B Frank. There is something about the methodology in circus training that is similar to rehabilitation work, and it would have been interesting to find out what that is. An example is the acrobat Olle Saloranta Strandberg who broke his neck but still managed to get back. If this he has done the movie Cloud Jump.
Another area in which the circus stands out is in how to easily work together despite cultural differences.
- We in the circus are good at interculturality. In circus, those who work together often come from different cultures and speak different languages. The circus has its own intercultural norms that make it work anyway. The circus welcomes anyone who is curious!
Southern Sweden Circus Festival
Concert Hall at Stadshallen in Lund on Friday 8th September at 19.00
Osa no later than 28 August 2023.
Seats are limited.