Go back Grassroot: Workshop in Kaunas during Cirkuliacija
16.06.2021.
Twelve Baltic artists from circus and related art fields gathered in Kaunas from 10-12 of June to participate in an intensive 3-day workshop dedicated to collective creation. The workshop was organised and hosted by the International circus festival “Cirkuliacija” and it took place in the recently opened contemporary circus centre in Kaunas – “Cirko sapiens”. The event included in the Grassroot network’s programme that is coordinated by Rīgas cirks.
The workshop “Uncomfortable places” was led by Finnish circus artist Inka Pehkonen (Sisus company), who arranged the creative tasks to take the artists out of their comfort zones. Various improvisation techniques were involved – falling, exploring touch, dancing and moving with eyes closed, leading each other in movement – to encourage trusting the partner and involved artists in pair and group work. Workshop was finalised by an exciting site specific performance in one of the remote districts of Kaunas with an audience from one house. The inhabitants could regard the performance in the yard from their balconies, therefore the title “Performance for the balconies”.
Most of the involved artists expressed great enthusiasm and gratitude for the experience exchange that boiled both during the workshop.
(Photos: Vytautas Paplauskas)
French circus artist based in Estonia – Sylvain Potiron informed that it was really fun and energising to meet Baltic circus people after such a long time stuck due to covid.
Latvian circus artist Valery Komisarenko approved that the tasks were really moving the involved out of their comfort zones and the whole process gave inspiration to improvements in ones own creative process.
All involved were expressing gratitude to the organisers team and Inka Pehkonen after the workshop. The idea of arranging the workshop during an ongoing festival was worth pursuing as artists could also see the programmed shows and get involved in communication and creative ideas exchange with the festival crowd.
Rīgas cirks team looks forward to coordinate next workshops and to support artists participation financially to boost creativity in Baltics.
Rīgas cirks coordinates the GRASSROOT – BALTIC CIRCUS ARTISTS’ NETWORK, which is supported by Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture.
