Contemporary Circus Research in Quebec: Building and Negotiating and Emerging Interdisciplinary Field

Abstract

Describing an emerging field of research, one that is fundamentally interdisciplinary and heuristic in its phenomenological approach, can be overwhelming. In one sense, everything has yet to be done, but to state even this would be to negate precursory forays into the study of contemporary circus as practiced in Quebec and disseminated throughout the world from an unexpected new circus capital. In this short essay, I give a first-hand account of the creation of the Montreal Working Group for Circus Research, its rapid growth and integration into Montreal’s vibrant cosmopolitan circus scene. The Working Group and its ongoing collaboration with National Circus School of Montreal have served as a nexus for developing research strategies and a vocabulary for the new field of contemporary circus studies in North America.

Empirical development of a screening method for mental, social, and physical wellness in amateur and professional circus artists.

“…Contemporary circus has exploded in its popularity and global influence, with the number of professional circus companies around the world still on the rise (Leroux, 2014; Shrier & Hallé, 2011). Instead of the three-ring spectacles of yore featuring animals (Mabert & Showalter, 2010), contemporary circus emphasizes artistic content and creativity, comparable to figure skating or dance (Leroux, 2016).…”

“…Montreal’s Cirque du Soleil (CdS) is perhaps the largest and most widely known circus company in the world, employing hundreds of artists for its many touring and stationary shows. Its significant success makes it a staple of successful entrepreneurship within the community of performing arts (Leroux, 2014), and it provides circus organizations with a model of success and creativity (see Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). Because CdS invests in physical and emotional measures to ensure the health and safety of its artists, and because they have such a large and organized pool of performers, they pose a significant and accessible research population for investigation of health factors related to professional circus performance.…”

“…The work of circus artists is compared to that of competitive athletes (Ménard & Hallé, 2014), dancers and actors (Goudard, 2010;Leroux, 2014;Wallon, 2002), but has unique challenges in terms of extreme physicality, mental problem solving, and overcoming danger (Bouissac, 2006;Kristensen, 2004). Texts addressing the education of circus artists report on the diversity of physical and artistic techniques that students must learn (Burtt & Lavers, 2017;Étienne, Vinet, & Vitali, 2014;European Federation of Professional Circus Schools, 2008;Filho, Aubertin, & Petiot, 2016;Herman, 2009;Munro, 2014).…”

The Embodied Journey of an Idea: An Exploration of Movement Creativity in Circus Arts

“…In 2001, circus arts was recognized as a legitimate art form in the province of Quebec (Leroux, 2016a) and, a few years later, in 2009, by the Canada Council for the Arts (Katyana Stephens, 2015). Consequently, circus schools and companies progressively opened their protected and secretive creative spaces to scholars leading to a limited yet widespread research endeavor (Leroux, 2016b).…”

Not just clowning around: Investigating psychological mechanisms underlying accidents in a heterogeneous group of contemporary circus artists.

“…Contemporary circus is a performing art form wherein artists use circus skills to tell a story and play a character, with the aim to captivate spectators (Leroux, 2014; van Rens & Filho, 2019). Similar to other performing art forms (e.g., dance), there is an inherent dualism present in contemporary circus between the artists’ ability to engage in artistic expressiveness and their ability to execute complex circus skills (see Filho, Aubertin, & Petiot, 2016; Ménard & Hallé, 2014; Spohn & Spickard Prettyman, 2012).…”