Circus Festival at Sziget in Budapest
- 28 Jul 2023 4:41 PM
Cirque du Sziget, one of the most popular attractions at the Sziget Festival, returns to its usual slot with ever more colourful offerings.
From early afternoon until late at night, the 1,000-seater circus tent and outdoor stage will be filled each day with a constant succession of exciting performances by four different companies.
This year, thanks to the co-operation between Sziget and the International Federation of Circus Schools (FEDEC), two schools will have the opportunity to showcase their students with two daily productions.
Held over from last year, the show FA by Amoukanama Circus from Guinea, selected for America's Got Talent in 2022, will be presented on the outdoor stage.
Other students from the Imre Baross Artists’ Training School present their adaptation of John the Valiant (‘János Vitéz’) to open the programme in the tent.
Some students at local circus schools fled the war in Ukraine to come to Prague and Budapest. Prague’s Cirk La Putyka company took on the artistic training of young acrobats. In Boom Vol 2, young Czech and Ukrainian acrobats perform together, sharing their professional skills, and personal stories and experiences.
The Canadian Cirque Alfonse company need little introduction to Sziget audiences, as they’re returning to the festival stage for the third time. This family formation brings together members from three generations, from grandfathers to grandchildren, and in their latest show, Animal, they charm the crowd with their trademark humour and naturalism.
Each night, the tent’s programme concludes with a performance of Humans 2.0 by famed Australian company, Circa.
Company director Yaron Lifschitz challenges the perceived limitations of the human body to bring out the best in acrobats. Their light-hearted yet lyrical performance leaves no-one in any doubt as to why they are one of the world’s most exciting contemporary-circus companies.
The outside stage takes the spotlight in the time slots between shows in the tent. This year’s performances include three female acrobats from the French company Das Arnak, who will showcase the ancient Chinese technique of hair-hanging.
The same venue will also host a Chinese pole performance by the Argentine troupe manoAmano. Perhaps one of the most spectacular shows this year will be Chouf Le Ciel by Moroccan Cirque Colokolo, which will feature acrobatics, juggling and hip-hop dance, accompanied by traditional and electronic music.
The programme on the outdoor stage will close each night with the inevitable fire show, a performance by Hungary’s finest fire jugglers especially created for Sziget.
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Main photo: Cirque Alfonse
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