Traditional Circus vs Contemporary Circus Essay

Traditional Circus vs Contemporary Circus - Essay Example The origins of contemporary circus (or "cirque nouveau") can be found in 70s. In this circus a separate story is told to the audience in a chain of different small performances, unlike a traditional circus, where no separate story was told. This new movement has not theoretical background and there is no a clear intention to be separated from a traditional circus. The main aim was to position a contemporary circus as a kind of incarnation from a traditional circus. For example, there is no total abandonment of the use of animals during performances, because animals are poor narrative means. In the contemporary circus animals are often used with success. There are different means to amaze the audience in the contemporary circus, because acrobatics, juggling or clown acts are often not unique for the audience and are not very fascinating. In accordance with the artists from one of the contemporary circuses: "Circus in general has its own tradition; but at the Cirque, we try to regroup and or add multiple disciplinary approaches to synergize the creation process. Every time we add a new collection, we have to capture the relationship between the information sources and the usage† (Spencer 2007, p. 23). In the contemporary circus the main emphasis is made on a story told to the audience through a number of different acts of performance instead of separate successive performances of jugglers, clowns or animals. There is more about topic in the modern circus and the spirit of modern times. Thus, the artists of the contemporary circus are able to appeal for the emotions and feelings of the audience by referring to the most critical themes, such as love, friendship, children et cetera. They develop a chain of their actions on the background of one common theme. There are no circus families performing in the contemporary circus, but rather conservatory-trained artists; character-driven acts are conveyed to the audience through a chain of narratives embodied in a series of successive acts of performance. The audience has the ability to sit in front of the stage and get involved in the story told by the contemporary circus. There is no ringmaster in the contemporary circus anymore, because a number of performances are connected by a common theme. Thus, the representatives of the contemporary circus Nanjing I claim: â€Å"It seems that the 'cultural signifiers' related to training do not simply 'jump from one body to another' but are embodied through slow, repetitive ongoing application according to a set of cultural values imported from China. The project challenged the attitudes to training of the trainers, students and administrators of Nanjing I and encouraged them to question their cultural assumptions† (Farrel 2008, p. 2). Thus, there is a special atmosphere and environment in the contemporary circus, which depends on the quality and thematic connection among different acts of performance. To reach a wholeness of narration, the artists in the contemporary circus introduce different changes in their performance, music and costumes. This is an evident difference between a traditional circus and the contemporary circus. The modern artists wear simple leotard s and there are no traditional costumes for clowns. Human bodies of the modern artists are moving in such enchanting manner that it is really fascinating to watch movements of their strong bodies and not to pay attention to their weird costumes, wigs or any other