From cirkus to nouveau cirque to contemporary circus

Does the history of the circus begin with the ring or with the circus performers? Is the circus a "form" or is it the people in the "form" who create the art? Some claim that there is no such thing as “nouveau cirque”, new circus, since what we call “new” is in fact a return to the motley background out of which the circus evolved. Although there may be some truth to this, today “new circus” is very much an established art form, with higher education possibilities and supporting social structures in many countries.

The history of nouveau cirque (new circus) and of contemporary circus – which arose in the wake of 1968 and the prevailing political climate of the time – is in many ways the story of an art form that shares its early origins with the other performing arts, but that took its very own, completely different route. Many believe that the circus was created in 1768 by the British horse breeder Philip Astley. He presented advanced equestrian spectacles in a ring, and to fill the interludes between horse acts, he brought in performers such as jugglers, acrobats and tightrope dancers.

Others, such as Tomi Purovaara and Pascal Jacobs, believe that it is the artist with their feats and craft that form the basis of the circus as we know it today and that we can trace the circus back to the deepest roots of performing arts history, to the gladiator games, the clown companies that traveled between Europe’s medieval cities, even finding connections to the Dionysian festivals of Ancient Greece and to carnivals. In his book "Contemporary Circus – Introduction to the Development of Circus Art", Tomi Purovaara writes: "Everything emanates from the artist, the starting point of the circus is the physical art of the individual." From that perspective, the traditional tent circus that we so strongly associate with circus is only a small, albeit important, part of circus history, where the art form has been captured in a specific “mold”.

If the traditional circus has its origins in Astley's horse shows, cirque nouveau brought with it a huge shift by turning what began as interlude acts into main acts. Although there are some cirque nouveau-related companies that work with horses and several that work in tents and arenas, that is not what defines the art form itself. However, if we go back to the traveling groups where the artist, their tricks and craft were in focus, the step to today’s contemporary circus is not particularly long. Then, the journey of nouveau cirque and contemporary circus becomes more about placing the circus in an artistic context.

The history of nouveau and contemporary circus has only been documented extremely sporadically. Since the art form is so young that many of its founders and key figures are still alive, it is a history that continues to "write itself" in real time through interviews, images and films created by the practitioners, as well as through what is highlighted in the media. Considering the art form's short existence of just over forty years, the evolution that has taken place from the boundary-crossing "everything is possible - progress" of the first nouveau cirques to the "monodisciplinary" performances featuring only one circus discipline is nothing short of revolutionary.

Tilde Björfors has studied how the circus has historically inspired and been represented in the other art forms. She has searched her way through non-fiction, biographies, novels, articles and history books. Through interviews with approximately one hundred performers and circus experts, a contemporary history that cannot be found in any library unraveled and spread like a net across Europe, with threads to Australia, Canada and the rest of the world.

Tilde Björfors has studied and made use of the material she herself produced through her artistic processes in the performances Inside Out and Wear it like a Crown, as well as in her research on circus disciplines and her research.