When a possibility becomes a risk, when risk becomes a possability
Taking risks is the base and an ever-present element in the ongoing research project Contemporary Circus – transcending boundaries in arts and society.
I have chosen to look at and approach the circus artists as experts in the field of taking risks. I work with seven archetypical circus disciplines, which hold and demand different gradations of risk taking, when being performed and trained. By working with artists with in these disciplines I have panned out seven dimensions that all circus artist use in their discipline, artistry and in relationship to risk;
- Trust
- Everything is possible
- Presence
- Failure
- Cooperation
- Balance – Equilibrium
- Entrepreneurship/devotion
These are necessary tools/steps being used in the creation of contemporary circus as well as within the contemporary circus disciplines – equilibre, acrobatics, aerial, object manipulation, clown, pair acrobatics and entrepreneurship. The risks that this art form includes can be found on four levels; physical, artistic, mental and improvisational.
I have further used the seven dimensions looking at the risks that arise in unconventional meetings. Contemporary circus is a platform for the meeting between several different art forms, nationalities and means of expression.
The additional level of my research project is multidisciplinary. Researchers from economy, management, psychology, theatre science and pedagogy are strongly involved. The first aim was to let their work and research angel support my artistic research. But the circus artists’ expertise in risk has inspired these scientists to develop their studies further. New projects have developed working on transferring the knowledge within circus to other fields of science.
Where I am today we work with the seven dimensions and how they are apparent in:
1) The artists and their embodied knowledge
2) The cross-artistic meetings and the artistic process. How do they effect the artistic process and result?
3) How do the dimensions, or can they, affect society?
I would like to discuss the seven circus dimensions in relation to risk further. Can you see more dimensions? Can you relate these seven to your area of expertise and artistic focus?
Tilde Björfors is a Professor at the University Collage of Dance, Sweden.
Links:
www.danshogskolan.se
www.cirkor.se
http://www.cirkor.se/trailer/ (Inside Out)
