Start your summer with a modern-day circus at FringeArts

The circus is coming to town! Not the circus of yesterday, with lions and tigers and people being shot out of cannons — this is a new vision of circus that’s grounded in acrobatic explorations influenced by theater and modern dance. Hand to Hand is a multiday festival coming to Philadelphia May 29 through June 3. Presented by Circadium School of Contemporary Circus and FringeArts, the festival creates a wonderful opportunity for audience members (adults and children) to experience this new vision of circus — from their seats or by trying circus feats themselves.

Sea change at the circus

Circus as art, not only entertainment, comes to Philadelphia by way of a break from circus tradition that began in Europe over the last 40 or so years.

“There was a movement in Europe that began in the 1970s in which circus was no longer only a family tradition — you didn’t have to grow up in a circus family to be part of it,” explains Shana Kennedy, executive director of Circadium and Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. “That movement came to the U.S. later on . . . and people became interested in trying circus arts recreationally.”

Thanks in part to Kennedy, the power of circus arts for fun, recreation, and creative exploration has taken root locally. She founded the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts 15 years ago and has seen an increase in enrollment each year. The school, which offers both adult and youth classes, even outgrew its original space and has relocated to a larger venue in Mount Airy. Out of the school’s success came Circadium. With a three-year, full-time, state-licensed professional training program, this nonprofit vocational college is the only school in the United States that offers a Diploma of Circus Arts.

What you’ll see

During the festival, audiences will have the opportunity to see Circadium’s inaugural class of nine students present a showcase of their work. According to festival organizers, it’ll be “the best of the best, featuring nine artists in twelve ensemble-based pieces which will include a six-club juggler, a contortion aerialist, hoop diving, and musical accompaniment, all carried by storylines of competition, friendship, romance, heartache, and self-doubt.”

Besides these local artists, Hand to Hand will feature the internationally acclaimed Barcode Circus Company, from Montreal, featuring a new show that includes acrobatics on the Russian bar and a juggling cigar box act. “The performers in Barcode bring years of cultivating their act,” says Kennedy. “It will be a great show for adults and children.”

And if watching these acts inspires your curiosity and courage, join the Circus Midway on June 2 from 11am to 2pm for a free interactive event in the Haas Biergarten, where you can learn basic aerial acrobatics, juggling, plate spinning, and tight wire from Circus School teachers.

The festival will close with Test Flights, a free “circus scratch night” featuring Circadium students sharing their works in progress. Kennedy explains that this showcase is geared to an adult audience because of the experimental nature of the work.

Circadium School of Contemporary Circus and FringeArts present Hand to Hand: A FringeArts Circus Festival May 29 through June 3, with events inside on the FringeArts stage and outdoors in the Haas Biergarten. For tickets (free to $15) and the full lineup, visit online.

Above: Circadium students aren't on the corporate ladder. (Photo courtesy of Circadium.)