Work-in-Progress presentations of the Circus Residency Network

"Čik na eks" is an intimate circus-theatre piece exploring the ritual of smoking, drinking, and conversation as a performative act. On stage, there is a table, a chair, an ashtray, and a glass, accompanied by live double bass music by Thierno Diallo. The performer manipulates a cigarette, smoke, fire, and glass, transforming everyday actions into physical theatre and juggling performance. The project ironically comments on post-capitalist obsession with "time optimization" as the protagonist simultaneously laughs, drinks, and smokes.

Performer and author: Eva Zibler
Music performer and author: Thierno Diallo

"Solar Eclipse" (Sončni mrk) is a didactic-scientific juggling project that visually and poetically explains the celestial phenomenon of a solar eclipse. Through the interplay of light and darkness, it explores what happens in the universe during an eclipse and how humans have historically reacted to it. Balls serve as a perfect medium to depict the movement of celestial bodies and changes in light. The work draws inspiration from the opening scene of Béla Tarr’s film Werckmeister Harmonies and a line from the boy Dino in the novel Sarajevo Marlboro: “They told us the speed of light, but they didn’t tell us the speed of darkness.” The performance combines scientific explanation and juggling art into a meditative, visual experience that questions humanity’s relationship with the Sun and darkness.

Performer and author: Eva Zibler

Physical theatre and juggling performance, tout public
Duration → 30 minutes

Production

Mismo Nismo, Circus Residential Network

Distribution

Eva Zibler, Thierno Daillo

Website → Eva Zibler (SLO)

The project explores animal hypnosis through juggling and balancing on balls, with the performer primarily using her feet, creating the impression of a popcorn-like figure balancing and juggling eggs. Inspiration comes from observing the behavior of chickens and rabbits and their different reactions to hypnosis – chickens recover quickly after a trance, while rabbits deepen fear and trauma. The audience experiences various associations, from a hypnotic effect to a comic link with the chicken, allowing for a multilayered interpretation of the performance. The performance incorporates farm sounds, video projections, and object interaction, combining visual, auditory, and kinesthetic dimensions. The project explores resilience, diverse truths, and the ways living beings cope with trauma through a poetic blend of circus techniques, physical theatre, and a scientific-didactic approach.

Poetic mix of circus techniques, physical theatre, and a scientific-didactic approach., tout public
Duration → 15 minutes

Production

Cirkusfera, Circus Residential Network

Distribution

Author and performer: Danka Sekulović
Artistic consultation: Nikola Mijatović

Website → Danka Sekulović/ Cirkusfera (RS)

The project questions national identity through the performative imitation of sports teams, using a fictional “nobody’s sport” as a critique of self-affirmation through athletes’ achievements.
The composition and colours of the predominantly female team explore the sexualization and marginalisation of female athletes, while the performers provoke through excess and vulgarity to expose the male gaze on women’s sports.
Individually and collectively, they investigate breaking gender role binaries through physical expression, combining stereotypical gestures with technically precise juggling formations.
The performance includes partner juggling, acrobatics, human pyramids, and the exploration of mathematical and intuitive juggling patterns, creating visually hypnotic and unexpected sequences.
Through collaboration, mentorship, and the exploration of different learning approaches, the performance develops an in-between space of queer and technically demanding performance that challenges the audience and questions social norms.

A performance combining partner juggling, acrobatics, human pyramids, and the exploration of mathematical and intuitive juggling patterns., tout public
Duration → 20 minutes

Production

Cirkokrog, Circus Residential Network

Distribution

Authors and performers: Oton Korošec, Mojca Sovdat, Ema Herlec, Lučka Zajc, Anja Ropoša, Gala Jarc, Pavla Zabret

Website → Keglevih Vaj Representation (SLO)