You wouldn’t expect Finland to be the birthplace of fantastic contemporary circus. But from sensuous to explosive, Finnish contemporary circus is generating a buzz, worldwide. International circus marketplace CircusTalk got interested in how this happened and interviewed CircusInfo Finland.
Finland often gets held up as an example of how a European country with the proper resources and a supportive government can foster the development of circus arts among its people and allow a fledgling contemporary art form to thrive.
There are currently about 20 full-time contemporary circus companies and around the same number of solo artists, duos, collectives and working groups in Finland. We estimate around 250 circus professionals working in Finland, both performing and teaching circus skills.
Unlike other performing arts, circus reaches out to young, urban and often male audiences. Circus has a strong sense of community, which pulls you in. Fifteen years ago no one knew about Finnish circus. Today everybody talks about it.
