Besserwisser

What do you get when you take two European Cirque du Soleil performers who decide they want to focus a little bit more on clowning and a little bit less on spectacle? Besserweiser. Which in English translates roughly as “Know-it-all” , features two very skilled performers from Cirque who do just that.

In their own words:

In our society we are constantly trying to be faster, better, and smarter… only to realize that we are consistently trying to reach unattainable goals. Rather than be content with where we are, we deform ourselves to reach an ideal that we have self created or bought into. This pushes us to the ridiculous, eventually becoming a know-it-all, hence a Besserwisser.

Jesko and Guennadi present their comedic duo “Besserwisser”. They offer unique situations with extraordinary objects to reveal the human interaction between he who thinks thar “he knows” and is perfect, and he who tries to aspire toward perfection. Two sides of the same psyche… A besserwisser, Nothing more annoying…

The artists
Jesko von den Steinen
Jesko von den Steinen was a solo clown with Cirque du Soleil’s “Saltimbanco” for 5 years. He is currently also performing with Familie Flöz, a Berlin based, physical theatre company. Jesko works on occasion in Paris, France with Philippe Gaulier, as his teaching assistant. He recently co-wrote co-directed and choreographed a film for Bravo! TV. The film “Corps” uses acrobatics and contemporary dance as its form of narration. It has been selected for various international film festivals.

Guennadi Tchijov
Guennadi has performed with Cirque du Soleil for 12 for years. Creating the role of “The Dreamer” for Saltimbanco and later working in Mystere. He originates from the Ukraine and is a former student of Valentine Gneuschiev. He subsequently has worked as Character and clown, for example with Rolf Knie’s “SaltoNatale” and has performed in various Varietés such as Roncalli’s WinterGarten.

You can find out more about the duo on their website, listed below:

http://www.jesko-guennadi.com