Circa (contemporary circus)
 |
|
| Industry | Circus |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder |
Derek Ives & Antonella Casella (Rock n Roll Circus) Yaron Lifschitz (Circa) |
| Headquarters | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
Yaron Lifschitz, Artistic Director & CEO |
| Website | http://circa.org.au/ |
Circa Contemporary Circus (referred to as Circa) is an Australian contemporary circus company. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Circa produces circus productions drawing on acrobatics, movement, dance, music and theatre that tour in Australia and internationally. The company was established in 1987 and was initially named Rock n Roll Circus, before shifting its name to Circa Contemporary Circus in 2004 under the direction of Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz.
Circa's touring shows span diverse contexts from works for families in traditional arts centres to European contemporary arts festivals. To date, Circa has toured to 37 countries across six continents. In 2014, Circa performed over 360 performances to over 130,000 audience members locally, nationally and internationally.
From its original three person ensemble in 2003, Circa has grown to consist of a full-time ensemble in three-divisions, an administrative team, and a dedicated circus studio which offers training programs for schools and general public in Brisbane.
Circa's inception was in 1986, when Street Arts Community Theatre commissioned a circus-theatre fused production called 'The Rock & Roll Circus' which performed at The Rialto Theatre. At the conclusion of the project the core group of performers including Derek Ives and Antonella Casella expressed interest in continuing as an independent faction to exclusively perform circus. In 1987, led by Ives and Casella, the collective formally splintered off into a new troupe, taking the name of the production and going by 'Rock & Roll Circus'. Originally an ancillary activity by Street Arts, the troupe evolved to performing their own unique brand of circus fused with music and theatre. Gaining its independence, Street Arts discontinued their presentation of circus, leaving Rock & Roll Circus to be one of the leading forces of circus in Brisbane.
With a mission statement of "high energy physical theatre for thrill-starved audiences", the following decade of Rock n Roll's operation was met with much a resounding success, continuing the 'nouveau cirque' movement of combining narrative and thematic elements through physical display. The troupe embarked on its inaugural regional Queensland tour in 1988, and as with the trend of contemporary performance of the time, showcasing productions with a strong political focus on contemporary issues, including disenfranchisement, AIDS education, and youth detention.
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