CirkoБalkana 9

Illustration and design: Marin Remić

In its ninth edition, the regional travelling festival Cirkobalkana is returning to its natural setting - the circus tent.
As in the previous years, the festival aims to gather and support local, regional and European circus practices, to prompt collaboration and exchange of experiences, and thereby present contemporary circus to a wider audience, using its authentic and innovative vocabulary, which stems from its transdisciplinarity.

In an uncertain world it is important to fight for one’s art, because it inspires us, broadens our horizons and gives us freedom! Circus attempts to wisely use the space between the real physical state coming from discipline and that which is staged - and it is precisely this space where circus shines, thrives and flourishes. Therefore, believing in the imagination and courage of artists, we continue to work tirelessly on allowing freedom of creation, providing them the necessary conditions for artistic development.  

The global pandemic and the global crisis in the cultural field has motivated us even more in our intention to keep the festival alive, celebrating circus in all its forms!

This is why we are still determined to give the audience a live experience, no matter how limited it may be and different from what we were all used to in its heyday - an overcrowded tent. The physical distance between the audience and the performers is still something completely new to us, something that forces us to enter the realm of readjusting - quite reluctantly - hoping that one day we will all crowd together in a heated atmosphere of the circus tent.

For the ten days of the festival we have prepared a program that will allow the audience to see the current diversity in thinking of circus artists from France, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. Beside the main performing part of the program, several master classes will be organized, educational programs for children, as well as exhibitions, concerts, talks with artists, video projections, and conferences. 

The festival is being realized in partnership with BITEF festival and the French Institute in Belgrade, with logistical support by Silosi Beograd and GAIA movement. The financial supporters are the Serbian Ministry of Culture, the City of Belgrade, Creative Europe, and the circunext platform.