Exploring intimacy An Investigation into New Dramaturgies: The Autobiographical Circus

Can the circus be fragile, vulnerable, intimate? Can a circus practice transform our perception of virtuosity and thus redefine our relationship with risk—a key element of the circus arts? In the search for meaning of the acrobatic gesture, contemporary circus remains an open space, constantly reinvented by new generations of artists. Some artists explore more fragile forms and sets free from the demands of strength, mastery, and virtuosity inherited from the heritage of modern circus. Among these “new dramaturgies” there are some grounded in vulnerability that puts the self at its core. This “intimate” or “autobiographical” circus lies at the heart of Tania Simili’s research, artist and PhD resident at the Istituto Svizzero in Milan. On this meeting she will meet the audience and engage in dialogue with Marianna De Sanctis in relation to her site-specific performance LAVATRIX, and with independent researcher Gaia Vimercati.