Next Door Circus Magazine Next Door Circus Magazine #2 | Page 6

mance. So our first original story, the Pearl
Fairy, was brought to stage in 2005. We
had a wonderful professional team. Children 13-15 performed together with us,
the trainers. We were full of enthusiasm,
and at least I believed that it was as important as a Cirque du Soleil performance. I think this was a very important step
towards a new circus. This performance
played the whole season in the Estonian
National Puppet Theatre and got a great
feedback as a professional and amazing
production.
Folie starts to live the international adventure
Gradually, the number of students grew.
We had already opened beginners
groups, separating boys and girls, and in
2005 we also opened a new group in a
different area of Tallinn.
In 2005, there was the 1st all-European
circus schools` network meeting in Berlin, organised by Circus Cabuwazi. The
Network of International Circus Exchange
was born. Going to the seminars offered
by this yearly platform has been very
informative and has played an important
role in the development of Circus Studio
Folie. That is where I met some of my current colleagues, and where we developed ideas for collaboration. Participating
in many international projects has helped
Folie students realise that circus is not just
a strange hobby of extravagant people,
but that it is something done by many
lovely young people in Europe. We have
learned new tricks and teaching methodologies, and explored the value of social
circus. Every year, Folie performs abroad
at several youth circus festivals. Our great
long-term partners are Cirkus in Beweging from Belgium, Albert and Friends
Instant Circus from London, Upsala Circus
from St. Petersburg, Hannover Circo Center and Lahti professional circus school in
Finland, among many more. For several
years, Folie performances have been in
the program at Sylt Island Circus in Germany, hosted by Tobias Fiedler. We are
extremely grateful for all that support.
Going to all those festivals and meetings
has also been an opportunity for the trai-

ners to learn different teaching methods,
to exchange professionally and to see
outstanding contemporary circus performances. Until 2011, there had not been
any contemporary circus performances
touring Estonia. Therefore, we were privileged to see contemporary circus performances that motivated. Thus, we became
the ambassadors of circus art in Estonia.
All those trips and meetings with other
professionals abroad have inspired and
supported me as a circus director through the years.

“Participating in many
international projects
has given Folie students
a chance to believe that
circus is not just a strange hobby of extravagant
people, but that it is something done by many
lovely young people in
Europe.”
Tallin European Capital of Culture 2011 –
a crucial moment in the future development
When Tallinn was a cultural capital in
2011, I initiated a project for circus development in the country. With the support
of the “Tallinn 2011” foundation, we wrote
a European cultural project called “What
Makes Us Move.” This six-partner international circus project came to life thanks
to the European Union capital of culture initiative. Over two years, youngsters
and trainers from partner organisations
enjoyed visiting each other to take part
in master classes, internships and performances. At the same time, Folie gave
workshops in schools in Tallinn. Finally,
the Estonian circus community gathered
around the table of the Ministry of Culture. In the end, Folie hosted all the partners, and some professional performances, at the Circus Tree festival in Tallinn at
Kadriorg Park. For 10 days, the park was filled with outdoor activities like workshops,

street acts and a picnic with clowns. We
had an amazing turnout.
Building a circus community in Estonia
Since 2012, Folie has organised a World Circus Day event, which gathers the
Estonian circus community, both professionals and schools. This event has
really brought us together and led to the
foundation of the Estonian Contemporary Circus Development Center in autumn 2014. The aim of this organisation
is to continue to develop contemporary
circus in Estonia in a balanced way, from
grass-roots activity to professional circus
art. It is important to get recognition and
support from the government as well as
from the audience.

I believe, that Estonia’s
lack of strong circus culture or governmental
support has worked in
our favour in terms of the
development of contemporary circus.
The lack of know-how in Estonia has
forced us to study models from abroad,
combining different artistic disciplines