Rotemannavägen 10, 145 57 noRsboRg teL 08-531 998 30, FaX 08-714 90 57

e-maIL: cIRkus@cIRkoR.se

www.cirkor.se

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

In February 2013 cirkör’s main circus hall in alby, a suburb south of stockholm, was re-inaugurated. these premises have been our home since 2001, but have now been expanded to include a rehearsal space, Cirkör LAB and work space for all our office acrobats. cirkus cirkör’s training halls (practice facilities), production space and offices can now all be found under the same roof: the cirkör House in alby.

this change has marked an important step for cirkus cirkör. earlier we had very limited space for rehearsals and development of new productions. We are now able to offer greater opportunities for practice, training, production, collaborations and artistic development.

BENEFITS THE ENTIRE CIRCUS COMMUNITY This change not only benefits Cirkör, it is also important for contemporary circus as an art form. at cirkör House, not only cirkör but also other compa-nies and constellations of artists, from sweden and around the world, can work on developing new performances and creations. Offering artist residen-cies (where one group or institution hosts another for a period during which the guest company, for example, can work on developing a new produc-tion), is a growing international phenomenon in the world of dance and contemporary circus. collabora-tions, even across national borders, are also more common in the world of dance and contemporary circus than in other areas of swedish performing arts production. cirkus cirkör wants to be a driving force behind this development in sweden. In sweden, dramatic theater as well as opera have traditionally rested firmly on strong cultural institutions in the guise of national (state) theaters or municipal and county theaters supported heavily by operating grants that make it possible for them to work rela-tively independently.

by necessity, dance is an area of the arts that has developed other means of creating the conditions necessary for productions and tours, ways that require the involvement of several partners. con-temporary circus, a relatively young art form within sweden’s performing arts, shares this reality with dance. However, partnerships are not only financially fundamental, they are equally important in terms of promoting artistic development.

CIRKÖR LABcirkör House is a haven for the artistic development of contemporary circus, as well as for national and international collaborations. cirkör Lab is the platform within Cirkör’s organization specifically focused on creative and educational development; 2013 saw an explosion of artists in residence. cirkör has also participated in no fewer than three ongoing eu projects. this evolution was made possible by our new premises (for which we owe thanks to botkyrka municipality) as well as a three-year devel-opment grant awarded to cirkör Lab (for which we must thank the swedish national arts council).

ABOUT GRANTS AND BUSINESSundertaking qualitative artistic work presupposes adopting an explorative work method. this always requires time and resources – and contemporary circus is no exception. cirkör’s ambition is to convey something important through its perfor-mances, to move, touch and inspire its audience. our international productions are the result of years of preparation, and in the long-term we want to see them spread far and wide, to be experienced by many people. that is why our performances run for several years (the latest example being Wear it like a crown, which was performed 400 times in 60 cities in 15 countries), which also creates the condi-tions required for recouping part of a production’s financial investment. Beyond our much appreciated performances, this requires an organization of em-ployees that have what it takes to keep a production alive and vital in-house, while at the same creating the contacts and business opportunities needed to allow the performance to embark on an efficient and sustainable tour.

In order to maintain and further develop our quality and uniqueness, we will need future operational grants that are larger than those we currently receive. today, our operations are largely – about 70% – financed through various projects and business deals and 30% through government, country and city grants – a rather low subsidy rate for a swedish cultural institution. We are proud of our ability to generate our own revenue, but we are also mind-ful of the potential pitfalls of too large a portion of our finances becoming dependent on short-term projects.

THE CIRKÖR HOUSE IN ALBY – OUR MEETING PLACE FOR ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

In order to create the necessary financial stability for long term processes, our funders must take a greater joint responsibility for cirkör’s operations. our goal is to enlist even more creative and artistic talent that can carry on and develop our work with a more long-term perspective and who therefore will need extended contracts and secure terms of employment. currently, our desire to maintain a large volume of activity for a big audience, as well as making circus training available to many partici- pants, is somewhat at odds with our desire to deepen, develop and cultivate knowledge and experience for future endeavors. to achieve the latter, we will need increased funding.

SCANIA AND MANEGENat the same time as our discussions with our funders are ongoing, we are also working to broaden our financial base through various partnerships and collaborations. one example is our partnership with the truck manufacturer scanIa, which continued this year. This collaboration provides an efficient and felicitous solution to cirkör’s transportation needs while providing scania with circus activities, among other things on truck Driver’s Day, at the annual running event scaniamilen, various other circus events and the attending performances.

Finally, I want to touch upon our collaboration with the trade organization Manegen, which affords resident and visiting circus artists in the stockholm area the chance to practice daily in our new cirkör House, long a neglected need. Without access to daily training facilities, artists will abandon stockholm and Sweden – something we definitely do not want to see.

botkyrka 2014-03-25 Anders Frennberg, CEO

IMAGE LISTMattias Edwall: p.1Mats Bäcker: p. 3, 8, 9, 10Christina Simpson: p. 4:1-2, 6, 23:1Maria Wallin: p. 5, 14, 23:2Einar Kling Odencrants: p. 7Daniel Karlsson: p. 11:1Oscar Karlsson: p. 11:2Henrik Agger: s. 15Johan Stomberg: p.17, 20Alex Hinchcliffe: p. 18Linnea Svensson Arbab: p.19

currently, our desire to maintain a large volume of activity for a big audience, as well as making circus training available to many partici-pants, is somewhat at odds with our desire to deepen, develop and cultivate knowledge and experience for future endeavors. to achieve the latter, we will need increased funding.

ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES

cirkör House was re-inaugurated February 15-17th. on these days, we wanted to welcome the interna-tional circus industry, our swedish network, as well as the local population of our home town botkyrka to our new home. We wanted to introduce the cirkör House as a gathering place for one and all, whether you be a circus artist, a circus company or a young person looking for a place to practice circus or parkour.

We chose to stage the swedish premier of our latest major performance, knitting Peace, at home in cirkör House. at the same time, subcase, a trade fair for contemporary circus was taking place at

subtopia, so we took the opportunity to invite orga-nizers and bookers to our show. We also offered a number of open performances at reduced prices for neighborhood residents.

saturday February 16th, we held an open House for the general public where we offered circus trial classes and guided tours. ung cirkör (Young cirkör), our circus high school, and cirkör in the Hood performed, we set up a cafe and treated everyone to hotdogs. cirkus cirkör artists, educa-tors and office acrobats were all on site. The lines were long and we estimate that this open House was attended by close to 2 500 people.

side by side with our artistic productions, another vital part of cirkus cirkör’s creative enterprise is working to strengthen the arts themselves and contemporary circus as an art form in particular. We do this by creating platforms and collaborations focused on creative processes, research and development as well as by facilitating exchange between various parties. one of the most important platforms for this work is cirkör Lab.

underlying cirkus cirkör’s successful productions are extended artistic processes that demand time and resources from a creative team and from the artists themselves. the traditional work processes

of the theater, with 8-10 weeks of rehearsals, are not adequate for circus performances as the participation and presence of the circus performers themselves is vital to the creation of artistic themes as well as to circus technique and construction. In our estimation, these long explorative processes lie at the root of our performances’ success these past few years. Further immersion into these processes has also been part of our artistic head tilde björfors’ research project at the university of Dance and circus (Dans- och cirkushögskolan, DocH). a full account of this project can be found on the web page www.circusresearch.com

ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES

CIRKÖR HOUSE & THE INAUGURATION

ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT & CIRKÖR LAB

CIRKÖR LAB (CIRKÖR LABORATORY FOR ARTISTIC BRILLIANCE) cirkör Lab is our umbrella term for cirkus cirkör’s milieu for artistic development, a place where artists and creators can dedicate themselves to exploring and researching contemporary circus in order to enhance it as an art form. the seeds of our own performances also often spring and sprout out of and around cirkör Lab. examples are knitting Peace and our upcoming production underart. cirkör Lab is also our in-residence venue for new circus companies from all over the world as well

as for interdisciplinary research projects, educa-tional development, film and think tanks on creative leadership. cirkör Lab has existed for several years but was truly given a fresh start in 2012 when we received a regional development grant from the swedish national arts council.

cirkör Lab’s goal is to be a place where contem-porary circus as an art form and organization can develop, as well as be an inspiration to organizations and individuals who work with contemporary circus or closely related artistic disciplines.

cirkör Lab is a place where international networks are nourished and cultivated; it is here that new ideas are formed and here that we share our own and other people’s artistic processes, both within our own trade and with the broader audience. the entire project is based on the participation and indi-vidual creativity of the principal target group: artists/performers, creators, companies and networks within international contemporary circus.

In 2013, apart from rehearsals and labs dedicated to our own performances, we offered 19 artist-in-residence spots to artists and companies that work in the spirit of contemporary circus.

IN-RESIDENCE AT CIRKÖR LAB 2013 1. magmanus (norway/France)2. tanmis (France)3. Douglas magnusson (sweden)4. Johan Wellton, several periods in-residence (sweden)5. Institutet för tricks och konster 6 . cirkusperspektiv gynoïdes (France/Italy/canada/sweden)7 . Saara Ahola & Peter Åberg (Finland/Sweden)8. saara ahola (Finland)9. viktor gyllenberg & oskar Wrangö (sweden)10. clowns without borders (sweden)11. cauda: Rosa brus (sweden)12. caRe: un loup pour l’homme (France)13. tanmis (France/sweden)14. cie bonsai (France)15. Linnea backgård (sweden)16. anna Lagerkvist & Lisa Pedersen (sweden)17. Darragh mcLoughlin (Ireland)18. David & Fofo (sweden)19. Women in circus consortium (sweden)

WORKSHOPSIn collaboration with kulturkraft stockholm (sup-ported by the EU’s Social Fund) we have offered workshops in skills development for partner acrobats, a rigging course and a juggling workshop with craig Quat, an important innovator within juggling.

In 2013 Cirkör LAB carried out 40 different activi-ties. all told, 1 850 people have experienced or received training at cirkör Lab.

CARE, AN EU PROJECTcaRe – circus art and Research exchange. cirkus cirkör shares many issues and challenges with circus companies form other parts of the world. For example, how can those of us who work within the circus cultivate our artistic endeavor and create more space for in the face of our pressured financialrealities? but also, how can we burrow deeper into our work in a way that leads to innovation, lets creativity flow freely and allows us to avoid repeat-ing ourselves through old truths and patterns?

caRe consists of six european countries and seven partners: cirk La Putyka/czech Republic, circo aereo/Finland, cahin-caha and un Loup pour l’homme/France, nordic House/Iceland, cirkus Xanti/norway and cirkus cirkör/sweden.

During 2013-2015 CARE will organize 21 different activities where directors, artists/performers and creators will meet and work together in interdisci-plinary labs, artistic conversations and gatherings, seminars and residencies. several of these activi-ties took place in 2013 during the nordic festivals volcano circus Festival in Iceland and the circus village Festival in norway, as well as in a special caRe Lab in France. most of these activities included public presentations and involve people beyond those working directly with the actual projects. all in all, 190 people have taken part in the caRe project.

CIRCUS NExT (Formerly Jeunes talents cirque) is a european program that supports innovative artistic circus projects and is run as a partnership between 23 european organizations. after a selection process, circus next gives support to a number of produc-tion projects in the form of financial aid, residencies, coaching, workshops, extensive marketing and partnerships with international networks. cirkus Cirkör/Cirkör LAB is an associated partner. We offer a fully-financed residency to one of the selected companies and cirkus cirkör’s creative project manager and director olle strandberg is a member of the judges’ panel of experts. caRe receives sup-port from the eu’s culture program.

saara ahola in residence From the project cirkusperspektiv gynoïdes in residence

ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES

PREMIERE 2013: KNITTING PEACE knitting Peace, cirkus cirkör’s new international production, directed by tilde björfors, was per-formed for the very first time on January 24th, 2013 at the festival ”cirque en capitales” as part of the european cultural capital of the Year in marseille-Provence, France. the premiere took place after a month in-residence with contemporary circus pioneers archaos at cReac in marseille. their much acclaimed guest appearance during the stockholm Water Festival in the early 90s was the thing that first truly sparked tilde björfors’ interest in contemporary circus as an art form. the privilege of staging our premier with the for us almost mystical archaos was like coming full circle – and like coming home.

knitting Peace is part of the international collabo-ration Lacrimae, a joint venture between cirkus cirkör, cahin-caha in France and La Putyka in the czech Republic. each group’s production within Lacrimae’s framework was developed during joint labs, seminars and workshops that took place in 2012. transparency and exchanging artistic pro-cesses and methods were the labs’ starting points for learning, sharing knowledge and experiences.

as early as 2012, cirkus cirkör showed small em-bryos of knitting Peace to an audience. Performing Knitted Peace, our preproduction, at Confidencen, ulriksdal Palace theater, just outside of stockholm, was one step on the way towards the premiere; another was our participation in a Lacrimae cabaret at the Letni Letná festival in Prague. In December

2012 cirkus cirkör had the privilege of providing the

entertainment for the nobel Prize festivities, where acts from knitting Peace were performed. all in all, this allowed us an unusually long creative process and provided us with the chance and the courage to test and develop new ideas while working towards the January 24th world premiere in marseille.

on may 29th cirkus cirkör organized a daylong event at the centre culturel suédois in Paris. In the afternoon, a seminar was held in collaboration with botkyrka municipality, umeå european cultural capital 2014, the cultural center of mac/val and the municipality of vitry-sur-seine. this seminar focused on cirkör’s success story, on how we settled in botkyrka and together transformed a neglected suburban community south of stockholm into a place that is anything but middle-of-the-road. In the evening acts from knitting Peace were performed in the swedish Institute’s garden.

In 2013, knitting Peace toured cirkör’s network of organizers both in sweden and abroad. Following the premiere in marseille, performances have been staged in La seyne sur mer and Paris (France), alby, gothenburg, stockholm, uppsala, Falun, Örebro, malmö, växjö, Landskrona, Ytterjärna, umeå, västerås and Piteå (sweden), tuurku and tampere (Finland), Prague (czech Republic). our norwegian partner baerum kulturhus (baerum culture center) arranged a two-month tour in norway where, apart from baerum, we played in Larvik, skien, kristian-sand, Haugesund, sandnes, arendal, oppland and Harstad. We wrapped up the year with sold-out performances at Dansens Hus/International scene of contemporary Dance back home in stockholm.

In 2013, knitting Peace was performed 132 times for an audience of 64 182 people.

Ensemble: aino Ihanainen – handstands, live knitting, Ilona Jäntti/nathalie bertholio – aerial acrobatics (ropes, rings, cloth), mikael kristiansen – handstands, dance acrobatics (tangles), matleena Laine/tiziana Prota – aerial acrobatics (tangles, ladders), vocals, alexander Weibel Weibel – tightrope, acrobatic balancing, violin, samuel ”Looptok” andersson/olof göthlin – knitted live music

Creative team: Directed and conceived by – tilde björfors, musical composition and sound design – samuel “Looptok” andersson, set design – Fanny senocq, tilde björfors, stefan” Drake” karlström, Joel Jedström and the ensemble, knitted scenery and knitted costumes – aino Ihanainen, costume design – anna bonnevier, make up – Helena andersson, Lighting design – ulf englund, choreo-graphical advisor and artists’ coach – cilla Roos

PERFORMANCES

knitting Peace - alexander Weibel Weibel

knitting Peace - Ilona Jäntti

ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES

CURRENT REPERTOIREWear it like a crownIn 2013 Wear it like a crown, directed by tilde björfors, continued to garner success on its world tour. Wear it like a crown is the final part of Cirkus cirkör’s trilogy about the body. In this tragicomic and absurd performance, director tilde björfors explores chaos and order and how risk is trans-formed into opportunity. How we choose to carry our failures, fears and shortcomings like a crown. How we polish it and wear it with pride.

this production premiered in april 2010 and has been performed more times than any other cirkus cirkör production. In the past year, Wear it like a crown was staged in the netherlands, germany, argentina, brazil, Iceland and sweden. During the fall, as part of an entirely new collaboration with artipelag, an international meeting place for art in värmdö in the stockholm archipelago, we staged an anniversary-run of the production. Wear it like a crown was performed for the 400th time and an exhibit was produced to mark this occasion.

Ensemble:Henrik agger – partner acrobatics, Louise bjurholm – partner acrobatics, David eriksson – partner acrobatics, trapeze, juggling, anna Lagerkvist – pole artist, Jesper Nikolajeff – chain-saw juggler, knife thrower, Fouzia ”Fofo” Rakez – partner acrobatics, trapeze, juggling.

In 2013 Wear it like a crown was performed 59 times for an audience of 19 581 people.

IN PRODUCTION, PREMIERING IN 2014:Underartthe artistic process of our upcoming production underart began in 2013 in norway, within the framework of the eu project caRe, as well as during a one-month residency at cirkör Lab in alby. the residency was presented to an audience of a total of 650 people both at Dansens Hus in stockholm/ International scene of contemporary Dance and in alby.

underart, directed by olle strandberg, is cirkus cirkör’s upcoming international production. It’s world premiere will take place at stora teatern in göteborg on september12th, 2014, followed by a tour in sweden and abroad.

this performance is based on olle strandberg’s personal story of a crash. an earth-shattering, transformative bang that might have signaled the end but instead becomes a fresh start and a way forward. underart is a delightful ode to what happens after a crash landing. to what happens thanks to a crash landing. seven performers with backgrounds in circus, dance and music tell this story through balancing acts, acrobatics and specially composed live music.

CIKÖR EVENTFrom intimate gatherings to major corporate events, public indoor and outdoor productions, the cirkör event team’s task is to provide tailor-made content. cirkör event is always searching for new artistic routes and delivers high quality no matter what the size or scope of the event.

In 2013, cirkör event has been even more focused on producing large events. In part this has entailed events with many performers, specially designed sets and costumes, but also events that are informed by cirkus cirkör’s productions, both thematically and esthetically.

one example of a larger assignment were nine mini performances for the interior design company senab, specially designed with a number of fur-nishings as their starting point. as previously, we

have noticed that demand for cirkör event increases whenever one of our major productions is playing in sweden. customers often want something similar, but tailored to their needs.

creating a knitting Peace theme for the inaugura-tion of the textile college’s premises in the swedish textile capital of borås felt entirely natural. We worked with set elements from the knitting Peace and used knitted pieces that were sent to us by the public as part of stickuppropet/a call to knit, an action we initiated in conjunction with the pro-duction of knitting Peace.

similar “theme” events were executed for clients such Lkab and combitech – all informed by knitting Peace. For the city of Helsingborg we created an event with an Inside out theme.

We are one of few companies able to undertake this type of large event. We already have many requests for large events or series of events for 2014.

In 2013, cirkör event carried out around 50 events that reached an audience of circa 22 000 people. cirkör event has worked in 15 swedish municipalities as well as in norway and switzerland.

Site specific event for Helsingborg’s City with an Inside out theme

event for senab

ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES

Lectures &

seminars

Knitting exhibition

Secondary school

of circus

Production office:

performances &

touring

65 venues in

12 countries

Audience of 100 000/year

International sales office

Courses & workshops

Circus Transfer=transferring circus

knowledge into other fields

Cirkör Event

Cirkör LAB

Cirkör performs worldwide

50-100 productions

per year

Jobs for circus artists

40 000 in audience/year

Surplus is

invented

in

artistic

developmentArtistic resarch

Residences

Artistic research

innovations/ideas

The Circu

s Pilots

(higher

education

for circu

s)

Became college education at DOCH

Network with hundreds of presenters

250-300 shows a year

Lectures & seminars

Circ

us

cam

ps

Co-operation with

Arts Colleges

Circus within

curriculum (f e

x

circus maths)

Courses at Stockholm School of Economics

Professorship in Circus

www.circusresearch.com

Circus exhibition in

Mölndal

Material for new performances

Part of research

projects at various colleges

Research project with support from The National Science

Council

Material for new

performances

Technical research and developmentTaken part in

various research projects

45 pupils from across the country

Eligibility for higher education

Cirkuspedagogue

International circus artist

Academics

Good study results

30 000 train circus in 40

cities each year

Trial circus

classes

Circus in schools

Circus for people with disabilities

Circus courses

Circus for Elderly

Cocky CommitmentQuality MadnessCollective Individualism

Educational

development

Social circus in Sweden and abroad

CIRCUS HEARTthe name cirkus cirkör is a swedish play on the French words “cirque” (circus) and coeur (heart). there’s a saying in the circus world: a person who has “a circus heart” is someone who’s heart beats for the circus fully, who is passionately dedicated to what they believe in and who willing to work hard for it.

contemporary circus is international at its core and we collaborate internationally in all our areas of op-eration. this is an integral part of all our daily activi-ties and a prerequisite for our being able to produce and sell performances, as well as for developing our educational section.

Within the artistic domain, through cirkör Lab, we offer residencies and exchanges and participate in the eu project caRe, with nordic as well as euro-pean partners.

our performances meet an international audience and in 2013 knitting Peace and Wear it like a crown together were staged 90 times for 35 548 people outside of sweden. our international tours are made possible by intensive networking and sales efforts.

In 2013, our overriding ambition in terms of inter-national sales was to continue expanding cirkus cirkör’s network of organizers, which consists mainly of organizers in sweden and norway, but also in the other nordic countries and all over the world. It is the wish of the organizers in this net-work to regularly and through long-term business

relationships secure bookings of our productions, often before they have even premiered. one exam-ple is underart, our upcoming performance set to premiere in september 2014: already nine months before the premiere, bookings for this production have been secured until December 2014. since interest in cirkus cirkör is enormous, our network of organizers is growing steadily. this network is fundamental in securing revenue for our operations. the goal for the future is to further expand this network to include venues in every part of the world and to allow us to perform for longer periods of time at individual theaters outside of sweden.

the year entailed a great number of long trips as we seriously began setting our sights on new parts of the world, primarily south america and asia. With the help of travel grants from the swedish national arts council and grants from the swedish Institute, we were able to participate in more performing arts trade fairs than in previous years, among others aPaP in new York and Pams in seoul. With a view to further expanding our network of organizers, we also received grants to help us travel to argentina and brazil during Wear it like a crown’s south american

tour. During this tour, for the second year in a row, cirkus cirkör performed at the major argentinian circus festival Polo circo in buenos aires.

another focal point of the year has been to make serious headway into the French market. During 2013 we also undertook targeted actions geared to new markets. In september, we traveled to spain and visited organizers in madrid, barcelona and Zaragoza. at the invitation of the swedish embassy and its Counsellor for Cultural Affairs, Marika Lager-crantz, we visited berlin, where we had the oppor-tunity to meet with selected theaters.

moreover, this year we participated in the circus trade fair subcase in alby, as well as in last spring’s Ietm meeting in Dublin. We have further cultivated our contacts with our agents in canada and china and enlisted an additional agent on the turkish market.

our educational section is also constantly engaged in international collaboration and exchange. In 2013 we participated in two EU financed projects, one with the goal of producing a european curriculum on how to work with contemporary circus in a social context, the other a european youth exchange that took place in stockholm during the summer of 2013. In 2013 our education and training section carried out activities in 10 countries apart from in sweden.

our high school students are thoroughly prepared for the international circus scene, partly through study trips to France, through meetings with inter-national performers and troupes, but also through their daily studies with teachers from the four cor-ners of the earth.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

SECONDARY SCHOOL OF CONTEMPORARY CIRCUSthis year, our secondary school of contemporary circus (high school) continued to prove itself as a cutting edge educational program both for those who wish to dedicate their secondary school/high school years to evolving as new circus performers and for young people who envision to take other professional routes but who value the opportunity of a creative and stimulating secondary school ex-perience while all the while benefitting from a solid theoretical base. the theoretical courses are given at st botvid’s secondary school in our home mu-nicipality of botkyrka and the circus training takes place at cirkör House.

In their first year, students study the basics. The syl-labus includes dance, acrobatics, strength, flexibility and trampoline. During the spring term students begin training in handstands and aerial acrobatics. before commencing the second term of year two, each student chooses a speciality, a major and a minor discipline.

an important cornerstone for the high quality of the education offered is the broad competency and ex-tensive experience of the 27 person strong teaching staff, with teachers from all around the world. Most have been educated at the world’s foremost schools for contemporary circus and have worked as per-formers at circus companies all over the world.

our students take part in numerous projects dur-ing their time in school. In these projects they work together both artistically and on circus technique, and their work is presented either in-house or as public performances. all in all in 2013 the second-ary school of contemporary circus gave 11 perfor-mances for 850 people.

Participating in events is another part of their edu-cation. In 2013, students from the high school par-ticipated in three cirkör events. this is an important exercise in coming face to face with an audience, but also provides a welcome injection into the class kitty, funds which among other things are used for a study trip in year two.

COLLABORATION WITH THE CIRCUS COMMUNITY circus training takes place in cirkör House. Here, students practice side by side with professional circus artists from cirkus cirkör or from manegen. the secondary school of contemporary circus

has also worked with cirkör Lab and the students have had the chance to practice together with per-formers from all over the world and to be present at run-throughs and presentations. We also collaborate closely with with the uni-versity for Dance and circus, DocH (Dans- och cirkushögskolan) in stockholm, among other things through mutual study visits and exchanges between students and teachers. two students have done internships in circus technique and directing with DocH teachers.

experiencing other circus companies’ productions is an important source of inspiration. During the year, students have attended cirkus cirkör’s per-formances knitting Peace and Wear it like a crown, cirque du soleil’s alegria at stockholm’s ericsson globe arena, Ron beeri’s YaD as well as cirque alfonse guest performances of timber. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONSthe secondary school students are prepared for work in an international environment. Just as in previous years, this year’s second year students went on a study trip to Paris to attend the Festival mondial du cirque de Demain (where they saw 24 circus acts from around the world). they also attended the French circus college cnac’s gradu-ation performance at Parc de la villette, undertook study visits and had the chance to practice at the schools Rosny sous bois and academie Fratellini.

some of the secondary school students took part in a christmas performance outside of Paris together with the French circus cirque Isis. this performance was directed by cirkus cirkör’s anna nerman.

other examples of international exchange: the artistic Program Director of the secondary school (high school) Walter Ferrero, is a member of FeDec’s board. FeDec stands for Federation des ecoles de cirque and is an international network of circus schools.

the contemporary circus program’s mix of theory, training in circus technique, artistic work and its close proximity to all of cirkus cirkör’s areas of activity results in its maintaining a very high level of secondary education. the students’ individual development is taken seriously and on many levels they are given day-to-day insights into how a con-temporary circus works and also into how a com-pany such as cirkus cirkör is run.

most of the students graduate with good grades in theoretical subjects as well as in circus-related topics and generally command a high level both artistically

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

and in terms of circus technique. a special note should be made of the fact that the high school circus class is one of the groups of students with the highest average grades in all subjects at st botvid’s high school. many of the students immediately continue on to higher education in sweden and abroad. many continue their studies to become circus artists, but just as many go on to other professions.

EDUCATION & TRAININGIn 2013, cirkus cirkör’s educational section greeted more than 29 000 children and young people, adults and seniors, with or without disabilities. a total of 70 cirkör educators and artistic educators have visited some 50 elementary schools and culture programs, five youth recreation centers (after school centers), six retirement homes and around 20 organizations, associations, trade fairs and festivals in 36 swedish municipalities and in 10 countries.

the activities offered were trial classes in con-temporary circus, lectures, shows, performances, workshops and continuing education courses. Half of all of these activities took place in botkyrka municipality and stockholm, the remainder all over sweden and internationally.

this year, we have invested in young people, both locally and internationally, through three different projects with ung cirkör, cirkör in the Hood and the Youth in action/ung och aktiv project.

additionally, we have focused on providing training for circus teachers through the 20-day course ”circus trans Formation”, geared to circus training in a social context. together with kulturkraft (supported by the eu’s social Fund), we have also carried out a continuing education course on artistry and Pedagogy connected to school subjects, where 25 educators and artists enthusiastically delved into circus and dance mathematics.

CORE BUSINESSCIRCUS SHOWS AND WORKSHOPS With the help of around 70 freelance circus educa-tors/artists, cirkus cirkör’s educational activities have reached more than 25 000 children, young people, adults and seniors with or without dis-abilities. this has been achieved through cirkus de Luxe shows and performances, circus workshops and courses, circus mathematics and through continuing education courses open to a number of professionals such as school and retirement home staff.

CIRCUS PEDAGOGICS FOR ADULTS through lectures, continuing education and work-shops we have shown how the educational methods of the circus can be integrated into society. this past year, our education & training section has provided a lecture and 14 training courses to 600 young people and adults all over sweden. exam-ples are courses in circus math at botkyrka munici-pality’s conference on children’s culture (barnkul-turkonferen), as well as the courses in artistry and pedagogy connected to school subjects given in collaboration with kulturkraft (supported by the eu’s social Fund).

CIRCUS AT YOUR LEISUREour circus courses are open to children, young people, adults and seniors living in retirement homes.

courses during school terms and school breaks in alby and stockholm are open to children from the age of 5, with or without disabilities, who wish to start new circus training. these classes range from basic to advanced courses that focus on a specific discipline. In 2013 a total of approximately 1 000 people participated in one of the 33 circus courses (14 in stockholm, 19 in alby) arranged by cirkus cirkör. During the summer and fall school breaks, a total of 68 kids and young people up to 17 years old were able to attend circus training. each course ended the term with a demonstration/show.

During the summer vacation, we also visited 14 towns in collaboration with the national Federation of People’s Parks and community centers (Folkets Hus & Parker). 600 children and young people all over sweden attended summer courses in circus and parkour. these week-long courses all ended with a show for friends and family.

Additionally, we offered 60 contemporary circus and parkour drop-in courses for amateurs in the cirkör House, where 2 500 children and young people trained with us.

chill with cirkör in cirkör House is one important example of how we open our doors, eight times a year, to make the art of circus accessible to one and all. 841 people participated in this free of charge trial circus class for the whole family. the atmos-phere is relaxed; you can give it a whirl yourself or watch while others practice. Coffee is sold at cost and you meet people you generally would not en-counter. around 30 children and young people with disabilities and their families have also participated.

äldre de Luxe (elderly de Luxe) is our recurring project for retirement homes. 90 seniors at two retirement homes in värmdö municipality saw the äldre de Luxe show ”vardag” (everyday, daily life) and afterwards took part in physical activities them-selves. In botkyrka 140 seniors at four retirement homes tried “seated circus” with cirkus cirkör. to keep this mobility program for the elderly using cir-cus alive, 15 employees at four retirement homes in botkyrka took part in a cirkus cirkör workshop. at the end of the year, we received word that äldre de Luxe will be given a large financial contribution from the swedish Postcode Lottery in order to develop and help spread the concept all over sweden in 2014.

a large number of professional and international cir-cus artists have trained daily at cirkör House. Daily practice is arranged by and for members of mane-gen, a trade organization for professional circus and street performers.

CIRCUS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIESSince the late 90s, Cirkus Cirkör has offered new circus activities for children and young people with disabilities. our ambition is to make it possible for all children to experience and practice con-temporary circus. contemporary circus feels good and encourages the desire to play and have fun, which in turn has been shown to promote growth on several levels. among other things it results in a stronger constitution and better motor skills, which in turn strengthens self-confidence and enhances the development of social skills.

We have had 34 major and minor assignments in the form of trial classes, creating performances,

workshops and consulting assignments for adults who work with the disabled. We held 24 one-term courses for people with disabilities, with end-of-term shows for friends and family

a total of 575 people participated.

We have also given lectures to 400 educators at the Institute for special education at stockholm university on circus methods for the disabled.

the kassmyra elementary school for special educa-tion in botkyrka has taught circus mathematics and st botvid’s special school held a two days trial class. 42 students participated together with their assistants and teachers.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIESEDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

PEDAGOGISK VERKSAMHET

CIRKÖR IN THE HOOD cirkör in the Hood is a joint initiative of cirkus cirkör and botkyrka municipality’s youth recreation centers (after school centers).

early in 2013 there were two practice groups, an advanced group that trained twice a week and a beginner’s group that joined one of these sessions. the focus was on getting the merged group to work well socially and to achieve a good group dynamic, and also to give the young people a run-through of the various disciplines within contemporary circus, to illustrate the possibilities beyond parkour. new members also joined the group, in particular through the young people’s own contacts and friends. the advanced group performed a parkour show at the re-inauguration of cirkör House in February.

a few of the young people were also given the chance to take part in the european youth ex-change and circus project Youth in action, where they met 31 circus youths from six other european countries.

the cirkör in the Hood project received botkyrka municipality’s children and Youth award in 2013.

UNG CIRKÖR (YOUNG CIRKÖR)cirkör’s youth ensemble, ung cirkör, is made up of 12 dedicated 10-15 year olds who demand a lot of time on stage. During the year they have performed their production of ”stormen” and carried out a number of small events at conferences, meet and greets and family events where they have welcomed an audience of 1 973 people on seven occasions.

INTERNATIONALEU PROJECTS through our collaboration with the european net-work caravan and its 12 member countries, our education & training section has created two eu financed projects.

Circus Trans Formation – European study plan became Swedish circus trans Formation is a pilot course for circus educators who want to work with circus train-ing as a tool for in social contexts. the project receives support from the eu’s ”Lifelong Learning Programme”, and is a collaboration between eight non-profit circus schools from different countries in cooperation with the ”université catholique de Lou-vain” in belgium. this national pilot course is being implemented simultaneously in sweden, belgium, France, spain, Holland, northern Ireland, Finland and Romania.

this pilot course will run from June 2013 to april 2014, with a total of 20 course days where stu-dents review the european curriculum, do exercises together, evaluate and exchange experiences. We want to continue shedding light on the educational methods of the circus, nationally and internation-ally, as well as increasing the possibility of personal growth, in particular for socially at risk individuals. allowing participants to encounter and experience the circus’ educational tools provides an opportu-nity to develop mental, social and physical goals in a pleasurable and creative manner. During 2012-2014 a curriculum will be written that we will all continue working on until 2014. Youth in Action in Europe – youth exchange between seven countriesIn august, cirkus cirkör hosted 33 young people and nine youth counselors from seven eu countries: Finland, France, belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, the czech Republic and sweden.

they met at cirkör House to exchange experiences and to work together to produce a circus performance on the theme of human rights. the production ”Fresh cubed” was performed at one of europe’s biggest youth festivals, ”We are sthlm”, in kung-strädgården park in stockholm and at cirkör House in botkyrka, for a total of 450 people.

EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

AUDIENCE 2013

Additionally...

Educational activitiesBeyond performances 468 19 585

cirkör event 50 20 000Youth in action: Fresh cubed 2 450

In total 265 97 018

In total 785 137 053

ung cirkör (Young cirkör) 7 1 973Wear it like a crown 59 19 581knitting Peace 132 63 182

cirkör Lab presentations 23 1 850cirkus de Luxe 28 9 092cirkus äldre de Luxe 2 90cikör in the Hood 3 400

Project presentations 11 850Secondary school of Contemporary Circus (high school)

Production Number of activities Total audience

STAFF & ORGANIZATION

cirkus cirkör is corporate group and the parent company is Cirkus Cirkör Non-profit Association. the association runs educational activities: education/courses, training and the secondary school pro-gram. The non-profit association owns Cirkör AB (cirkör Ltd), which produces performances and events as well as running cirkör Lab. apart from the close collaboration between our various areas of operation, cirkör’s companies share administrative and other support departments such as manage-ment, finances and IT as well as communications and marketing.

BOARD 2013bengt Westerberg (chairman), tilde björfors, mats björkman, malin Dahlberg, charlotte olofsson, annika Levin, olle strandberg, gunilla thorgren and birgitta Winnberg Rydh. the board is unremunerated.

MANAGEMENT TEAM 2013 artistic Director and Founder: tilde björfors, Head of Finance: anna olsson, Head of International Relations: Lars Wassrin, vice President/Head of

Production; anna Ljungqvist, Head of communications: susanne Reuszner (parental leave)/Pia Jarlöv and Christina Simpson (fill-in), Head of Cirkör Event: cajsa Lindegren, Head of education and training: mia crusoe, artistic Program Director, secondary school: Walter Ferrero, ceo: anders Frennberg

In 2013 cirkus cirkör employed 27 permanent employees and 228 short-term employees comprising 53 Ftes (full-time equivalent). all in all, in 2013, 255 people received salaries from cirkus cirkör.

FINANCESIn 2013 cirkus cirkör had a turnover of 39 209 070 sek, of which 24 615 373 sek came from our own sales and 14 593 697 sek from external investments as follows: ams (the national Labour market board) 85 725 sek, botkyrka municipality 3 257 000 sek, eu grants 417 637 sek the swedish sports confederation 85 835 sek, stockholm county council 2 250 000 sek, the swedish arts council 7 697 500 sek, the cultural administration of stockholm 700 000 sek and the swedish Institute100 000 sek.

STAFF & ORGANIZATION

AUDIENCE-RELATED WORK CIRKUS CIRKÖR 2013cirkus cirkör’s range of activities results in daily meetings with a fantastic number of people, from small children to seniors, in schools, high schools, colleges and in the business world. this leads to wonderful contacts and we work strategically to allow our different branches to cross-pollenate and help market one another. For example, it is clear to us that registration for circus training/courses and enquiries about our events both increase whenever we stage a major production in sweden. conversely, we know that many of our course participants and their parents, as well as event customers, often come to see our performances.

seeing and participating in cirkus cirkör’s activities is also about communication and we have therefore chosen to invest a lot in staying in touch with our audience and participants through social media. as early as 2006, we became one of the first perform-ing arts institutions in sweden to have our own Facebook page and around year’s end 2013-2014 we had 14 186 “likes” (compared to 11 888 for the Royal swedish opera and 14 789 for the stockholm House of culture and city theatre). We also maintain separate Facebook pages for our individual perfor-mances as well as Instagram pages and a blog on tumblr. In 2013 cirkus cirkör’s website www.cirkor.se had 131 536 visitors of which 80 901 were unique.

ALL CALL TO KNITFor knitting Peace, we undertook a special initia-tive called stickuppropet, “a call to knit”. through collaborations with the swedish Handicrafts as-sociation/Hemslöjdsföreningen and so called urban knitters, we have encouraged people to knit peace – or at least to reflect upon the message of this performance: is knitting peace possible? We have received hundreds of knitted pieces as a part of this initiative. some have been used on the produc-tion’s set and others have become part of an exhibit that has toured with knitting Peace. the concept has also been adopted by our organizers both in sweden and abroad. Individuals, schools, crafts associations and knitting clubs have sat down and knitted in the spirit of knitting Peace. apart from knitted pieces, we have received hundreds of letters, emails and drawings with thoughts on this theme.

In stockholm we collaborated with the urban knit-ting network För ett varmare stockholm (For a

warmer stockholm), which decorated parts of the city with gorgeous knitted works carrying the mes-sage ”knitting Peace”. During our run at Dansens hus/International scene of contemporary Dance in stockholm a special exhibit was set up in the theater foyer where the audience’s creations were shown side by side with the knitted work of profes-sional artists such as cecilia björsell. there were even knitting stations where the audience could sit down and knit during intermission and also jot down their own thoughts on the performance’s message. beyond the hundreds of knitted pieces cirkör has received, the call to knit/stickuppropet has garnered a great deal of attention in mass and social media.

argentina

brazil

Iceland

SWEDENStockholm CountrystockholmbotkyrkavärmdöHaningeJärnasalemsolnatyresöÖsteråkersödertäljeupplands-broHuddingevallentunanackaekerö

Västra Götaland CountrygothenburgboråsskaraströmstadLerumLidköpingFärgelanda (stigen)mariestad

Skåne CountrymalmöLandskronaHelsingborgLund

Blekinge CountryRonneby

Dalarna CountryFalun

Uppsala Countryuppsala

Västmanland Country västerås

Jämtland CountryÖstersund

Norrbotten CountryPiteåLuleåkiruna

Gävleborg CountryHudiksvallsandviken

Jönköping CountryHuskvarna

Kalmar länvirserum

Kronoberg Countryälmhultväxjö

Örebro CountryÖrebro

Östergötland CountryLinköping

Västernorrland CountryÖrnsköldsviksundsvall

Västerbotten Countyumeåskellefteå

ABROADNorwayoslostavangerLillehammer baerumLarvikskienkristiansandHaugesundsandnesarendalHadelandopplandHarstadmöre Romsdal

Denmark copenhagenSwitzerlandLugano

The NetherlandsamsterdamHerleen

GermanyHamburg

Argentinabuenos airesRosarioBrazilblumenauPomerodechapecôJaraguâ do sul

FrancemarseilleLa seyne sur merParis

FinlandÅbotammerfors

The Czech RepublicPrague

IcelandReykjavik

Great Britain/Northern Irelandbelfast

THE CIRKÖR MAP 2013

MADE IN BOTKYRKA