Contemporary Circus in Australia

It is a little known fact that Australia is the birthplace of contemporary circus. Contemporary or ‘new’ circus is circus without animals, and whose style is more irreverent, incorporating satire and theatre.

In the early 1970s, the first contemporary circus troupes, Soapbox Circus and the New Circus were formed. In 1977 amalgamated into Circus Oz in Melbourne, while other circuses formed later in San Francisco, Wales, and Québec.

[excerpt below from Circus in Australia ]

According to Nicola Brackertz, circus history teacher at the National Institute of Circus Arts, this style has made a rich and vibrant contribution to culture both in Australia and on behalf of Australians internationally.

The people who started [Circus Oz] didn’t come from a background of performers, necessarily. They taught themselves a lot of the skills. It was as much about being in an organisation where they had equal rights between the sexes, where they had communal decision-making, where they had political statements that they wanted to make… as providing audiences with something new and lively that they could respond to. The really big shift [was] not just having this new form of circus without animals, which is what people often point to, but the big shift [was] also in politicising it.

Nicole Brackertz, teacher of circus history at NICA, interviewed on 4 June 2004.

While earlier groups like Circuz Oz have gone on to become a leader in contemporary circus worldwide, and there has been the emergence of new professional and community circuses, the circus community in Australia remains close.

A spirit of generosity and support, and the formal and informal exchange of skills and resources among circus organisations and artists has continued since the early days to create and sustain a thriving and innovative circus culture in Australia today.