TENT house for contemporary circus

I am Fenja Barteldres, born in Germany in 1998 and specializing in cyr wheel. After a one-year course at ÉCQ in Canada, I graduated from Codarts Circus Arts in 2022. My graduation act Cyrrealism was nominated for the BNG Bank Circus Prize and performed at several Festivals in the Netherlands and Belgium.

After being a gymnast in my childhood, I discovered that the fusion of dance, theatre, music, and acrobatics brought by contemporary circus appeals to me much more than the competitive nature of gymnastics. I value collaboration and collective performance. Having a solo discipline though, I found in my apparatus a companion whom I know in every detail like a friend. Our close relationship is reflected in our performance; you can liken it to deep understanding and brotherly playfulness. I literally take the wheel apart, unfold its secrets and discover fascinating ways of handling, dancing, and communicating with the instrument. By bringing out details that were hidden under a pile of assumptions and traditions, I hope to spark inspiration. 

In 2022, I was Maker for a Day at TENT and showed a first draft of my graduation act at Back to Base. As a Maker for a week in 2023, I am exploring how I can use the cyr wheel in an innovative way. I believe that when we accept unchangeable circumstances as they are, beauty and self-realization can be found in them. As a circus artist, I use the cyr wheel as a tool to convey this message to the audience.   


MAKER FOR
A WEEK


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