BETA CIRCUS Participatory experience

Mirror of Novi Sad

Public performative output

17 - 18 May 2024
Highschool Tvrđava
Novi Sad, Serbia

In the frame of Cirkus Danas festival.

Public performative output of the artistic experience with Compagnie FENFIRE [AT] and Jovana Rakić, Marko Milic and Milena Todorović [RS], with the artistic mentoring of Ana Bragança and Ricardo Baptista [PT].

How truthful is the reflection in the mirror? Do I exhibit different behaviour when a mirror is present in the room? What occurs when I hold a mirror up to the education system in Serbia? How do I perceive my situation, my surroundings, and myself in the mirror? And can I successfully balance a stick while gazing into a mirror? 

The Austrian circus company Fenfire, along with Jovana Rakić, Marko Milic and Milena Todorović from Serbia, are exploring these and other questions. Collaborating with students and staff from the private gymnasium Tvrđava in Novi Sad, they are engaging in a two-week participatory process to create a performance. This performance will take place within the school building and will be open to the public. The project is supported by the Ondamarela collective from Portugal, known for their participatory artwork with diverse communities. 

The primary materials being used include mirrors, manual light sources, and sound recordings. Additionally, the circus element as a form of expression will be empirically analysed. This experiment’s outcomes and answers, much like in the fairy tale Snow White, may only be known by the mirror itself.