Cirkus Cirkör is a Swedish

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

company, and is today

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

's leading performing circus company within the art form of

contemporary circus Contemporary circus (or ''cirque contemporain'' in French-speaking countries) is a contested term in circus studies. In this article, it is used in contrast to the term 'traditional circus', combining with the genre elsewhere disambiguated as ne ...

. Cirkus Cirkör has toured the world with a number of circus shows. The company has also been influential in establishing new schools and training courses for aspiring contemporary circus artists in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and Scandinavia.

History

Cirkus Cirkör emerged as a small independent contemporary circus group, founded in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1995. The company was formed Tilde Björfors. Cirkus Cirkör was one of Sweden's very first

groups, inspired by

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

, among others. Cirkus Cirkör, however, moves more towards

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

- and

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

-inspired circus shows in expression, preferring small and intimate stage shows (in smaller playhouses and older theatre stages), in contrast to big, Las Vegas-style circus shows. The company's style in contemporary circus often mixes elements of

street theatre Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or universi ...

, rock video aesthetics, and various other forms of theatrical expression such as theatre, dance and film. Cirkus Cirkör tours regularly with several shows each year, both in Sweden and abroad. Cirkus Cirkör's famous base and home arena, the "Subtopia", is located in the Stockholm suburb of Alby (in

Botkyrka Municipality Botkyrka Municipality ( ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, not far from the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the town of Tumba. In 1971 ''Grödinge'' was merged with Botkyrka and in 1974 ''Salem'' was added ...

), south of Stockholm. The Circus Cirkör was chosen as a featured company for the second edition of the Biennale Internationale des Arts du Cirque held in 30 cities across the south of France in early 2017.

Europe Theatre Prize

In 2018, the Circus Cirkör was awarded the XV Europe Prize Theatrical Realities, in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, with the following motivation:

Conceived as a non-profit organisation, Cirkus Cirkör combines the production of shows with intense social and educational activity with its added interest in theatre and comic routines. This circus has since 1995 offered popular spectacles of great professionalism, amusing and full of energy, in which the arts of circus, expressed with extraordinary grace, technique and courage, interact in turn with pop music, music hall or street theatre, while at other times serving classics such as
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
’s ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
''. Cirkus Cirkör prefers to work in confined spaces, where contact with an enthusiastic audience is not buried under huge installations and scenery that run the risk of not merely surprising, but also distracting the spectators: it is circus that comes from the heart, with a social spirit that brings back to the art of circus its most enjoyable and poetic dimension.

Shows

A selection of shows by Cirkus Cirkör: * 2024 Tipping Point * 2022 Circus Life * 2022 Pippi at the Circus * 2021 Puff, Circus Days and Nights * 2019 Bloom, God's Disobedeant Rib * 2018 Epifónima * 2017 Under * 2016 Limits * 2015 Borders * 2014 Underart * 2014 Knitting Peace * 2011/2012: Undermän * 2010: Wear it like a Crown * 2008/2009: Inside Out * 2007: Odyssén, Dada Aitsch, Mannen i ballongen, Olika, Cirkusliv * 2006: Momo eller kampen om tiden, Cirkusliv, Havfruen * 2005: 99% unknown, Havfruen, Cirkusliv, Ung Cirkör:Kalla Balla Lik * 2004: 99% unknown, Cirkusliv, Ung Cirkör:Kalla Balla Lik * 2003: Fantastix, Romeo & Julia, Miss.Lyckad, T.I.D. – This is dangerous, Cirkusliv, Ung Cirkör - 10.000 Volt * 2002: Romeo & Julia, TRIX * 2001: Dom Vuxna?, TRIX, Crash, Cirkusliv, Virus 02, Pieces, Cirkusliv * 2000: TRIX, Bensin, Mr Pain, 00:00 * 1999: 00:00, URGA Marimé * 1998: Supercirkör 98, URGA Marimé * 1997: Kod XY, På * 1996: På, Ur kaos föds allt * 1995: Skapelsen (Creation)

Artistic director

* 1995–2023: Tilde Björfors

Managing directors

* 1995-1999: Tilde Björfors * 2000-2000: Yvonne Rock * 2000-2002: Linda Zachrison * 2002-2005: Malin Dahlberg * 2005-2007: Kajsa Balkfors Lind (Cirkör Ideell Förening), Pia Kronqvist (Cirkör AB) * 2007-2008: Pia Kronqvist * 2008–2020: Anders Frennebrg * 2020-2022 Elin Norquist * 2023- Kajsa Giertz"Kajsa Giertz the new CEO of Cirkus Cirkör", November 23 2022 https://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/cirkus_cirkor/news/kajsa-giertz-the-new-ceo-of-cirkus-cirkoer-457813

References

External links

Cirkus Cirkör
(Official website)
Subtopia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cirkus Cirkor Circuses Circus schools