Cirque nouveau

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Cirque nouveau, or contemporary circus, is a relatively new form of performing art in which a story or a theme is conveyed through traditional circus arts.

[edit] History

Cirque nouveau was established in France in 1970s^{[citation needed]}. At first it was an underground art form that quickly became popular with larger audiences.

Cirque Plume, Circus Oz, Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Baobab and Teatro Zinzanni are said to perform in this circus style. But the Cirque du Soleil, for instance, belongs more to the "neoclassical" circus style.

[edit] Artform

Oppositely to traditional circus, where acts are independent from each other, Cirque nouveau combines many different art forms to entertain and convey a story or theme. Such artforms include acrobatics, juggling, trapeze, acting, music and aerial tissu. For economical reasons, Cirque nouveau is typically performed indoors rather than in large outdoor tents. Music used in the performances is often composed exclusively for that performance and is often performed by live bands. Usually, animal acts are not a part of cirque nouveau, although some artists like Bartabas use horses for example.

[edit] Schools

Several circus schools helped expanding the number of troops performing Cirque nouveau. Among them: the National Circus School (Ecole Nationale de Cirque, Montreal), the Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque (Brussels), the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (Chalons-en-Champagne), the Lido (Toulouse).