Art from Circusheart is a production hub and resource for the development of Circus. The artistic director and founder is Tilde Björfors. Tilde Björfors was the co-founder of the circus company Cirkus Cirkör, based in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1995. After almost thirty years as its artistic director, she continues exploring the boundaries of Circus.
AVAILABLE WORKS
Magikern – a performance and a Nordic network
Magikern is a family performance aimed at a broad audience. Older audience members may recognise themselves in the ageing artists’ way of engaging with the transience of the body, while children and young people are invited to see older generations in a new light — and hopefully be inspired by the fact that curiosity and creative power do not come to an end.
At each performance location, we work in close dialogue with local associations, schools, universities and civil society.
Magikern is an itinerant Nordic performing arts project exploring the magic that can arise when people come together and, out of nothing, manage to create something greater than themselves: the human connection, what happens in the spaces between us, the immeasurable. It is a Nordic collaboration in which artists and creators with a long life in contemporary circus share their experiences with a wide audience and with younger generations of circus artists and makers. The project reflects the past in the present and creates a future across generations.
The project is both a tribute and an investment in the future. Beneath the dome of the circus tent, circus becomes a mirror of society: we balance, we fail, and we rise again. By sharing our experiences with the next generation and with the audience, we want to create a living legacy — and, together, defy gravity one last time.
Through the circus tent’s mobility, we intend to visit all participating countries. Each host location is responsible for engaging and collaborating with its local community, allowing the circles of circus to spread into wider contexts.
The project takes its starting point in the emergence of contemporary circus in the Nordic region during the 1990s, and in what internationally has come to be known as a “Nordic style”. This aesthetic and working method have been shaped through close cross-border collaborations, where artists, producers and institutions in Sweden, Finland and Denmark have jointly built the infrastructure and identity of the art form.
Our project deepens the Nordic dimension by shifting the focus from structural cooperation alone to artist-driven exchange. Through residencies, conversations and shared reflection, we bring together practitioners from several Nordic countries to explore what unites us — and what distinguishes us — today.
The Nordic perspective is both historical and forward-looking: we build on a shared cultural heritage while developing new collaborations that strengthen the region’s artistic mobility, knowledge-sharing and international position within contemporary circus.
Partners:
Dance Info Finland, OscarsborgOpera, Crêperie Hablingbo, Subtopia, Riksteatern, Frihamnstorget, Sirkusfestivaali Pusu, Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth, KompaniTO, Nycirkus Gotland, Kalle Nio.
Supported by the Nordic Culture Fund.
Händel on Hands
Art from Circusheart is one of the co-creators in Händel on Hands by Händel på händer Collective.
Händel på händer Collective is a groundbreaking dream project between a cellist, a tenor singer, a circus director, acrobats, violinists, a foot joggler, a balance act clown who loves to go in and out of balloons, and swallow sharp things that are not good for him.
Händel på händer Collective is an artist collective started on the initiative of cellist Mime Brinkmann, who has long carried a dream to be able to move like a circus performer when she plays. Together with the opera singer Thomas Volle and director Tilde Björfors, the three make up the artistic direction for the balance-resonance collective, whose purpose is to experiment and playfully develop what can arise in the meeting between the art forms of opera, music, circus, and visual arts.
Händel on Hands is a magical circus-musical-opera adventure that invites the whole family to experience the wonders of Georg Friedrich Händel’s music in a completely new way. Through breathtaking performances by circus artists, musicians, and opera singers, the audience is swept into a dramatic journey through the elements—fire, water, air, and earth. Each element reveals its unique beauty and power, yet they dance together in a mesmerizing symbiosis, offering an unforgettable exploration of contrasts, harmony, and the forces that unite us all. Händel on Hands is a groundbreaking dream project between a cellist, a tenor singer, a circus director, acrobats, violinists, a foot joggler, a balance act clown who loves to go in and out of balloons and swallow sharp things that are not good for him.
Can be performed for all ages, indoors & outdoors.
No language.
The length of the show is 60 minutes,
No intermission.
No land transport.
We can come in the morning and perform at night.
Music/Circus Workshops and audience outreach are available upon request.
Händel on Hands is created by the Händel på händer Collective, an artist collective started on the initiative of cellist Mime Brinkmann, who has long carried a dream to be able to move like a circus performer when she plays. Together with the opera singer Thomas Volle and director Tilde Björfors, the three make up the artistic direction for the balance-resonance collective, whose purpose is to experiment and playfully develop what can arise in the meeting between the art forms of opera, music, circus, and visual arts.
Produced by Art from Circusheart AB
Trailer Händel on hands by Collective balans-resonans, produced by Art from Circus Heart and directed by Tilde Björfors. Filmed and edited by Johannes Ferm Winkler, from pre-showing at Stockholm City Theatre, September 10th, 2024. Main Co-producer Stora Teatern Göteborg/Circus i Väst. Premiere in Göteborg at Stora Teatern February 28. With the generous financial support and residency platforms provided for the making; Stockholm City Theatre/Stockholm Parkteatern, Dans i Stan/City of Stockholm, Punkshangaren, Riksteatern, Orionteatern, Reginateatern Uppsala, Märta Christina och Magnus Vahlquists Stiftelse, Stockholms Stad, Sportbytarboden Enebyberg.
Artists: Thomas Volle: Tenor, Sandra Marteleur violin, Arsema Asghodom violin, Mime Brinkmann, cello, Jan unestam, balance artist & clown, Louise Bjurholm acrobat, Henrik Agger acrobat, Nelli Kujansivu, foot joggler.
Artistic team; Director Tilde Björfors, Music collage Händel, Mime Brinkmann, Light Design and technical direction Vilhelm Montán Lindberg, Costume, Isadora Jelly.
Administration Sales & Marketing: Executive Producer and Sales Manager Åsa Edgren, Production assistant Lova Freundendahl, Funding concepts and financial applications Maria Blom.
For booking, information and full length filming please contact:
Åsa Edgren
Email: asa.edgren@locoworld.se
Phone: +46 73-324 11 14
More in-depth information on Tilde Björfors: www.tildebjorfors.se