BETA CIRCUS Participatory experience

ONE TWO THREE, AND NOW YOU ARE A TREE!

Public performative output

15 - 16 November 2024
Rīgas Cirks
Riga, Latvia

In the frame of Nuit du Cirque 2024.

Public performative output of the participatory circus experience by Krista Burāne [LV] & Mārtiņš Eihe [LV], Ana Jordão [PT] & Vincent Kollar [DE], with local participants. Mentored by Marleen Scholten [NL].

In this playful collective experience, the contemporary circus duo Ana Jordão and Vincent Kollar will join forces with participatory theatre makers Krista Burāne and Mārtiņš Eihe, alongside a local community of tree enthusiasts, to explore the deep connection between humans and their rooted companions – the trees.

During the creation process, the makers will seek answers to questions connecting trees and people:
If we could slow ourselves to the heartbeat of trees, what would we hear?
If trees would whisper their names, would we greet them as ancient friends?
How can we restore the fragile equilibrium between trees and human tribes?
In a world crying out for care, what does it take to truly offer it?

Through highlighting care and the search for balance in our tangled relationship to nature, the project will weave together the voices of people who recognise the nature of trees in themselves. One two three, and now you are a tree! is an ode to the intricate web of all living things, human and non-human alike.

Let me introduce you to the tiny beetle nestled against my rugged bark, finding refuge in the texture of my being. I shield it from dust and the roar of engines, from raindrops too forceful and the blazing sun, from hungry beaks and prying eyes. But hold on, aren’t you a little creature yourself? And I – I am your tree. I thrive with your presence, just as you find solace in mine. Come back again. Dance, read, write, breathe, touch, and awaken my senses like the gentle spring breeze. You’re my little beetle!” (by a Linden Tree in Riga, listened to- and written down by Laura)

Photo: Kristīne Madjare

Co-financed and supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia.