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Awarded contemporary circus piece Thin Skin is a meditative work of movement installation. The world as a graphic model, a landscape of lines. Metal rods intertwine in space with the bodies of the performers, who sensitively receive the physical responses of the material – their partner. Moving sculptures appear and disappear. The circus artists come to terms with a fragility and vulnerability that can only be felt through thin skin.
“We are fascinated by the behaviour of the material, the movement of the suspended rod almost hypnotizes us. Certain movements can irreversibly affect the shape of the trapeze bar and create new conditions of non-stability to which we must adapt. We come to terms with a fragility and vulnerability that can only be felt through thin skin.”
Trapeze artist Eliška Brtnická has long been engaged in artistic research in the field of contemporary circus. She asks questions about what a trapeze is, what forms it can take, how it reflects on the movement of the body and what this movement conveys to the spectator. Her work is characterized by strong visual elements, which is why her new project is presented in the context of the gallery. In Thin Skin, for which she invited Alžběta Ticha and Filip Zahradnický, she focused on the trapeze as a kinetic and action sculpture. The trapeze was deconstructed, its parameters radically changed and the main protagonist became a long thin iron rod.
ELIŠKA BRTNICKÁ is a performer, choreographer, dramaturge and director. She graduated in non-verbal theatre from the HAMU in Prague, where she completed her PhD in 2018, focusing on contemporary circus. In 2010, she founded the company Cirkus Mlejn, under the name of which she creates her projects. In 2017, she completed a year-long course in circus dramaturgy at the prestigious French circus school CNAC in Châlons-en-Champagne. She has been involved in artistic research in the field of contemporary circus for many years. She is also the dramaturge of the international festival Fun Fatale.
ALŽBĚTA TICHÁ is a performer, acrobat and author. Before discovering her passion for aerial acrobatics, she studied dance at the Duncan Centre Conservatory in Prague. In 2020, she graduated from Codarts – University of Arts in the Netherlands, majoring in Vertical Rope and three years later from the International Circus Center for Artistic Research program in Spain. As a performer, she has participated in various projects such as Hansel and Gretel by Matěj Forman, Kid by Francesco Sgró, Li(n)es by Daniel Gulk, The Jungle Book by Štěpán Pechar and Matěj Forman, Land of Body by Radim Vizváry and others. She is a co-founder of the Feel the Universe Circus Company, but she also works as an author. Currently, she is working on her own project Frequency, which was included in the selection of the twelve best projects of the Circus Next platform.
LUKAS BLISS is a performer, juggler, dancer and creator. He graduated in Nonverbal Theatre from HAMU in Prague in 2019 with his solo performance LAVABO. He is the co-founder of the company Us Boys Who Go Out Together, which is dedicated to improvisation and physical theatre. He has also collaborated with Tantehorse, POCKETART, Farm in the Cave and Spitfire company. In his own work, he works with a combination of object, dance and space.
Direction: Eliška Brtnická (Czechia)
Performers: Alžběta Tichá, Lukas Bliss, Eliška Brtnická
Sound design: Stanislav Abrahám, Roman Džačár
Lighting design: Martin Špetlík
Costumes: Tereza Kopecká
Materials: Prokop Vondruška
Consultation: Ilona Jäntti, Stéphanie N’Duhirahe, Markéta Vacovská, Hana Turečková
Producer: Cirkus Mlejn, z.s.
Co-producer: DOX
Financial support: The City of Prague, Ministry of Culture Czech Republic
Partners: KD Mlejn, Cirqueon, Diod Jihlava, Metropolis.dk
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18th-21st Feb, 2025
Tickets from: Oulu Culture Centre Valve, Ticketmaster.fi
Tickets: 25/20/15 € (+ Ticketmaster processing fees)
Performances in Oulu Culture Centre Valve, Hallituskatu 7
For adult and children 8+
Duration: 60 min.
Photos: Anna Benháková
