Halfway through the month, there are still plenty of opportunities to see talented circus artists, attend chock-full virtual festivals, and claim a piece of ‘cirkus’ history. Check it out below!
READ
Feedback Loop
- Hear my take on the children’s book The Circus Ship in this week’s book review. Based (loosely) on the true story of a steamboat disaster off the coast of Maine in 1836, this light-hearted retelling features the words and illustrations of Chris Van Dusen.
WATCH
May 14
- Battle Night USA returns with competitors going head-to-head in stylish, funky and outrageously fun club juggling battles every Friday in May. Tune into tonight’s battle at 8:30 EDT at this link.
May 15
- The Internet Streaming Early Evening Show is a delightful variety show broadcast from Maine, including circus, comedy, music and more. The show runs 90 minutes and starts at 7 p.m. EDT. Get tickets at this link.
May 15/16
- Enjoy a Twitch City Block Party organized by Grand Master Ong, with non-stop Twitch streams from flow artists, jugglers, DJs and more start at 8:30 a.m. EDT. See the full schedule at this link.
May 16
- Urban Evolution in Alexandria will present an online showcase performed by their aerial silks students. Watch for free when the video link goes live at 6 p.m. EDT on their social media platforms. Visit their website to see their upcoming class offerings for kids and adults.
May 23
- The comedic (and elegant) aerial duo Forever Marzipan will be performing an in-person show at 5 p.m. at 9705 Laurel St. in Fairfax, VA. Send $15 via Venmo to @ForeverMarzipan and bring your own chair to enjoy this family-friendly circus show. Follow their Instagram for the latest updates.
May 29
- The Zoom Circus Show that Goes Wrong This is a cinematic, musical, cirque-tastic celebration of all the inevitable follies of Internet circus productions. Featuring a wide range of talented circus performers filming acts to an original soundtrack, this show will have you laughing and awe-inspired at just how spectacular our virtual mishaps can be. This is a pre-recorded show with a live emcee, starting at 8 p.m. EDT. Get tickets at this link.
Streaming
- Watch dancers utilize disability as a creative force in One + One Makes Three, part of the Past, Present, Future festival organized by ALL ARTS TV. Two dancers soar from aerial points in their manual wheelchairs in this intriguing look at the creation process in the middle of 2020.
ATTEND
May 22-23
- Triforce Flow Online is a collaboration of three major flow festivals to create a one-of-a-kind virtual event. Create an avatar and roam the online map to take workshops, watch the showcase, and catch up with friends in groups or one-on-one. Get tickets at this link.
June 4-6
- Club Fest 2 is bringing you another virtual festival jam-packed with workshops, shows, panels and head-to-head club juggling battles. All are welcome to join this event, organized by Club Motion Juggling, which has cultivated a truly worldwide community of club jugglers. RSVP at the Facebook event page, where you will see an updated schedule and show line-up soon.
BUY
- The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus weekly online variety show may be over, but you can relive the wonderful memories they created with Cirkus in Quarantine, clown and visual artist Rich Potter’s extraordinary collection of 46 watercolor paintings depicting the performers in each week’s virtual production. Pre-order the book at this link.
Art courtesy of Pedro Ribeiro Simões. By Amadeu de Souza Cardoso (1887 – 1918). Title Unknown (Clown, Horse, Salamander)(1911) https://flic.kr/p/2bGn29b https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/