My name is Fenja Barteldres, I was born in 1998, in the Black Forest aria, Germany. As a circus artist, I found my world within the Cyr wheel and its endless possibilities.
I grew up in an environment where social expectations around femininity, strength, and emotional restraint were deeply present. Since then, I still experience how easily I conform to standards that were once defined by others. This absurdity started to form the driving force behind my work: exploring how hidden patterns continue to shape us, even when we rationally recognize them.
This tension carries into my relationship with the Cyr wheel – a human-sized metal ring in which the artist traditionally spins with virtuosity and control. Instead, I take that perfect wheel apart into pieces, pushing directly against the logic of this discipline. The Cyr wheel becomes partner, obstacle, and metaphor. Choosing humor as a strategy to cope with daily life’s tragedies, I found it a powerful tool to make art. With irony as an antagonist to seriousness, I like to challenge not only the conventions of my circus medium, but also broader ideas around beauty, control, and perfection.
I studied at the École de Cirque de Québec in Canada and graduated in 2022 from Codarts Circus Arts in Rotterdam. Since graduating, I have worked with companies including GOP, TeaTime Company, and URBANATIX, while simultaneously developing my own artistic practice. In 2024, I premiered my first solo performance, Cyrrealism of which I was able to test various versions as a Maker for a Day (Back to Base #12 and #16). In 2023 I was at TENT Maker for a Week, and from 2027 I will be a Maker for a Year, working on my second creation: a full-length solo performance with the working title Tyr Auf!.
MAKER FOR
a day • A WEEK • A YEAR
