Chicago Contemporary Circus Festival-June 17-21

“Youth Circus” means kids, teens, and young adults who practice or perform circus arts. This includes young people who are learning circus skills at home, at a circus school, through an organization, at camp, school, college, or in a professional circus setting. There are about 10,000 youth that we know of doing circus all around the USA—and hundreds of thousands of others around the world with the numbers growing.

This late night cabaret features circus artists from across the globe and across the spectrum of circus and variety skills. Two completely different lineups of world-class aerialists, jugglers, physical comedians, acrobats, and novelty acts will be presented on Friday and Saturday. The Bindlestiffs are the glue, adding their own twisted spin on circus tradition. Composer and musician Peter Bufano adds live, original music to the mix.

The Girlie Show is about celebrating the female body’s strength and vulnerability, through circus, music and comedy. Burlesque comes

from the Italian word Burlo which means to joke. Burlesque is classic entertainment that although with a recent spike in interest, has almost vanished over the last few decades. Our goal in creating “The Girlie Show” is to act as preservation for Burlesque.

Internationally renowned Casus Circus present their premier work Knee Deep. Four performers explore the boundaries of strength and fragility. Bodies are pushed and pulled, weighed and tested, unlikely bonds are forged and acts of intimacy cohabit space with thrilling physical feats. The Casus artists bring a raw emotional edge and honesty to the stage revealing the strong connection of the quartet throughout the journey. Delicacy does not necessarily equate to fragility, although it is often a fine line the performers tread.

Enter the world of Pedal Punk, a Steampunk inspired place where cycling is the way to escape the technology obsessed society. In Pedal Punk we experience the excitement, artistry and thrill that occurs when a wacky bike shop mechanic interacts with cyclists and bikes, he repairs more than broken pieces. He creates wondrous machines and inspires the cyclist in all of us to become a Pedal Punk.

Company McQuiggs is composed of Willem McGowan, Kellin Quinn, and Nathan Biggs-Penton; three young and immensely talented performers. Together, they bring to the stage amazing skills and technical abilities infused with an undeniable youthful energy. Their show PLD blends juggling with comedy and dance to bring you an hour of jaw dropping, bucket stacking, balls flying fun!

Smashed: 9 jugglers, 80 apples, 4 crockery sets. A sensational mix of skills and theatricality inspired by the work of Pina Bausch. A series of nostalgic filmic scenes exploring conflict, tense relationships, lost love and quaint afternoon tea… In Smashed, the manipulation of the forbidden fruit takes a sagacious look at the strained relations between seven men and two women, kindly flaying traditional juggling and contemporary circus.

Magmanus Company is a Swedish circus company founded in 2009 by the Franco-Norwegian duo Manu Tiger and Magnus Bjoru. Together they perform in a street circus show with jaw dropping skills and stomach turning comedy. It is filled with Bollywood juggling, teeterboard dancing and handstands, and has a high flying acrobatic grand finale performed in – a g-string. A show you will never forget! ALL AGES

Imagine a cross between Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire, who has a knack for juggling. In fact, he dances with objects. Peter’s partners onstage include a garbage can, garbage bags, furniture, dishes, bicycle tires, an umbrella, and a piece of paper (a love letter), all of which reveal unique personalities. With a great deal of creativity and skill, Peter Davison reveals how ordinary things can become extraordinary. ALL AGES

Two men crash their submarine on bottom of the sea. You will laugh as they cry, swim, fly and go insane in a one hour award-winning critically acclaimed madcap journey from the ocean to the sky and back. ALL AGES.