A Circus High in Paris: Celebrate the Circus Arts of Tomorrow
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Can a circus change your life? Can you banish the Paris winter gray doldrums by discovering beauty and camaraderie in a place where people fly, where bodies bend and balance, and where leaps of faith abound?
If you were part of last week’s 42nd Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, the answer is a resounding yes.
The inimitable Calixte de Nigremont, a master of ceremonies who keeps the crowd highly entertained. © Meredith Mullins
Aerial Acrobats. Jugglers. Contortionists. Diabolo masters. Trapeze artists. Futbal magicians. Teeter Boarders. Sword dancers.
Chinese antipodist Pei Pei keeps a heavy German wheel moving in miraculous ways. © Meredith Mullins
Graceful whirlers; sure-footed equilibrists; artists climbing, diving, sliding, flying, somersaulting, and moving their bodies in mind-bending ways.
After three years of pandemic postponement, the festival was back — exploding with power, passion, and pzazz.
Performers represented many different countries but showed a true spirit of unity. © Meredith Mullins
Festival president Alain Pacherie hoped the festival would renew our spirits and reconnect us with beauty and artistic strength.
His wish came true for thousands of circus arts fans. And, for me personally, I came away with an insatiable desire to fly … and more importantly, the belief that I can.
Augustin Rodriguez Beltran from Mexico embodies elegance with the aerial straps. © Meredith Mullins
A Different Kind of Circus
This annual four-day event offers no swarovski sparkles, dancing poodles, cartoonish clowns emerging from tiny cars, or laboring elephants with that longing look in their eye that says they’re so much smarter than circus work.
This festival is about young talent … a celebration of the innovative integration of strength, artistry, grace, and emotion.
Trio Tete-Beche from The Netherlands and Germany tells a story of trust amidst jealousies. © Meredith Mullins
The performers reveal their personalities and push the boundaries of creativity as they tell stories of love, beauty, sensuality, resistance, jealousy, magic, humor, joy, and, most of all, trust. Their acts influence the evolution of the circus around the world.
Maina Yamachi from Duo One Two One spins by hair suspension. Can I hear you say OUCH? © Meredith Mullins
This year 23 acts were selected from the global entries. The performers represented 16 countries — from Brazil to Ukraine, Uruguay to Iran, and Ethiopia to China (including a first-time entry from Malaysia).
Juggler Roxana Küwen represents Iran and Germany in the Parade of Flags. © Meredith Mullins
The performers present their act twice and are judged by the 10-member jury, all prestigious directors from schools and circuses around the world. Points are awarded for artistry, technique, and rapport with the audience.
Bronze medalists Eliel and Cecilia of Ma-Mao Compagnie from Brazil won the hearts (and laughs) of the audience with their humorous and highly original performance. © Meredith Mullins
Every act is unique, and every performer is talented. How does one assess a juggler who juggles with hands and feet vs a team of young acrobats flying through the air off a teeter board vs a zen-guided sword dancer? The judging is difficult.
Sword Dancer Titos Tsai from Taiwan won a silver medal for his mesmerizing performance. © Meredith Mullins
The good news is that the festival is clearly a case of “everyone is a winner.” The audiences are exuberant and wildly appreciative, and all the artists are remembered by thousands of people, with promise of many opportunities to come.
And the Medals Go To …
The performers honored this year with medals:
Grand Prize of the Festival:
La Tangente du Bras Tendu (France)
Flying Trapeze
One photo cannot do justice to La Tangente du Bras Tendu from France as the team flew, twisted, and somersaulted in a multi-minute flying trapeze frenzy. Brilliant! © Meredith Mullins
Gold Medals:
Hng Thean Leong (Malaysia)
Diabolos
Gold medalist Hng Thean Leong from Malaysia pushed the limits of the diabolo. © Meredith Mullins
Troupe Kolfe (Ethiopia)
Teeter Board/Icarian Acrobatics
Not enough can be said about this explosive Gold-medal-winning group from Ethiopia. Troupe Kolfe had the audience on its feet for all their performances. © Meredith Mullins
Silver Medals:
Polina Makarova (Mexico)
Contortion/Balance
Silver medalist Polina Makarova from Mexico brought both strength and grace to her amazing feats of balance and body contortion. © Meredith Mullins
Quentin Signori (France)
Aerial Strap
Silver medalist Quentin Signori from France made his unique single aerial strap performance look easy. It wasn’t. © Meredith Mullins
Bronze Medals:
Ma-Mao Compagnie (Brazil)
Hand to Hand
Gustavo and Nerea (Spain)
Fixed Trapeze
Gustavo and Nerea from Spain tested the spirit of gravity with their Bronze medal trapeze performance. © Meredith Mullins
Titos Tsai (Taiwan)
Sword Dancing
Duo Gemini (Ukraine)
Flying Pole
The Ukrainian twins of Duo Gemini rocked a Bronze-winning performance of twinness, with originality and grace. © Meredith Mullins
While my back often aches just watching these fit and fearless performers, there’s something about people flying through the air — taking the ultimate leap of faith — that makes spirits soar.
Next year’s festival, will be January 25-28, 2024 and check out a replay of Saturday night’s performances on Arte.
Vive le Cirque!
For more gorgeous photos of previous editions of the festival, check out Meredith’s photo essays here:
Paris Fetes the Circus Arts: Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain
Vive Le Cirque! The Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain
The guest artists Soralino held the audience in rapt suspense and laughter. I saw their performance five times and enjoyed every moment, especially the giggles and cries of anquish from the kids. Bravo. © Meredith Mullins
Lead photo credit : Antoine Boissereau from France performs on the aerial silks. © Meredith Mullins
More in circus, circus arts, circus in Paris, festival, Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain
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