Cirque Nouveau
The Contemporary Circus , Cirque Nouveau or Nouveau Cirque , as originally known in French-speaking countries, is a genre of performing arts in the late 20th century in which a story or theme is presented through traditional circus arts .
history
In the 1960s, the traditional circus saw a decline in its popularity and reputation, and many circus companies lost sales. People in Western Europe were increasingly concerned about animal welfare in the circus and were looking for alternative forms of entertainment. A new form of circus arose around 1970 in France and some other industrialized countries - the Cirque Nouveau or Contemporary Circus . Theatrical and acrobatic elements as well as the means of live performance are increasingly used, which means that the audience began to be more interested in circus again.
Characteristics
Animals are very rarely used in this type of circus, and traditional circus arts are mixed with a distinctive approach. Compared to the classic circus, the contemporary circus tends to pay more attention to the overall aesthetic impact, character and story development, as well as the use of lighting design, original music and costume design. It will focus on conveying thematic or narrative content.
Different aspects of traditional and contemporary circus in comparison.
| Traditional circus | Contemporary circus | |
|---|---|---|
| Artist | Circus families | Professionally trained artists |
| Spatiality | Tiered seating around an oval or circular arena within a large circus tent | Type of lecture hall: the audience sits in front of the stage ( proscenium ). Some performances also take place in a round theater or in a tent |
| Staging | A series of spectacular performances under the direction of a wrestler who presents the individual actors | A series of acting and character based performances linked by a common theme or story |
| music | Marches, waltzes, etc .; The purpose of the music is to lift the mood and create a spectacular atmosphere | A variety of genres and moods. The music serves as the dramaturgical background for the story and characters presented |
The so-called Extreme Circus is a special type of contemporary circus - a high-performance and street-inspired genre with a greater improvisational content and an aesthetic that plays even more with free forms. The music is wider. So also be hip-hop , beatboxing or virtuoso percussion instruments used.
bibliography
- Jean-Michel Guy, Avant-garde, Cirque! Les arts de la piste en révolution. Éditions Autrement, Paris 2001. ISBN 2-7467-0141-3
- Le Goliath, guide des arts de la rue et des arts de la piste. Éditions HorsLesMurs, Paris 2008. ISBN 978-2-911614-12-5
- Véronique Klein and Pierre Hivernat, Panorama du cirque contemporain. Éditions Textuel, Paris 2010
- Jean-Michel Guy and Julien Rosemberg, Le Nuancier du Cirque. DVD coédité par le CNAC, le Scéren-CNDP et HorsLesMurs 2010
Web links
- Acrobats & Artists - Roots and Development of Cirque Nouveau in Europe ( Memento from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Also in Catalonia, see La Fura dels Baus
- ↑ Glenn Collins: Run Away to the Circus? No need. It's Staying Here ( English ) In: The New York Times . April 28, 2009. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- ↑ About Cirque du Soleil ( English ) Cirque du Soleil. September 30, 2009. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ↑ History and Heritage Gamma Phi Circus ( English ) Gamma Phi Circus. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald - Act that turns the circus on its head