“It’s difficult for a circus artist to see a lot of work.
If you’re a writer, then a big part of the way you learn to write is by reading. If you’re a composer, you listen to music. Visual artists go to exhibitions, and architects see design everywhere. In all these artforms there is ready access to the work of others, but circus artists have fewer opportunities. They spend more time and effort on their own training relative to time spent watching the work of others and learning through observation and reflection.”
Funded by Arts Council England, Deconstructing Circus was a project I initiated that set out to publish videos of scenes from contemporary circus productions. Each video was accompanied by an interview with the production’s artist(s) or director to deconstruct the structure, dramaturgy and thematic content of the scene.
The twenty articles produced by the project reached around 15,000 readers and more than 100,000 viewers.