‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ – or, Circus Enchantments of Reality - Sztuka cyrku

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‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ – or, Circus Enchantments of Reality

01.07.2026

In the Oxford English Dictionary, a ‘trick’ is defined as a ruse. A ploy or cunning manoeuvre intended to achieve a specific goal. It therefore refers to an action that in some way manipulates reality. It bends its boundaries. It deceives. Much like ‘artifice’, it exploits the ignorance or naivety of others in order to carry out a planned scheme […]

In the Oxford English Dictionary, a ‘trick’ is defined as a ruse. A ploy or cunning manoeuvre intended to achieve a specific goal. It therefore refers to an action that in some way manipulates reality. It bends its boundaries. It deceives. Much like ‘artifice’, it exploits the ignorance or naivety of others in order to carry out a planned scheme or create a certain impression. Both words are characterised by suspicion, the threat of being swindled, and the risk of being taken in by something that does not exist. Both have also become permanent fixtures in the vocabulary describing the world of the circus. They have clung to it as tightly as Velcro and define the semantic framework for its interpretation. Language shapes our view of reality; it provides us with filters through which we observe and evaluate events. The words we use carry meanings and reinforce the established order. It is impossible to escape the critical perspective and the justified complaint that, within such a reproduced structure, the circus will always occupy a lower position. ‘Artifice’  is less than ‘art’, and a ‘trick’ does not sound like an ‘opus’. How, then, should we view the world of the circus if the very words used to describe it, from the outset, disparage and trivialise its techniques and achievements? Could the solution lie in incorporating the circus into the narrative and analytical framework of other performing arts – dance, theatre, music? Is it enough to expand the vocabulary to include what is already available, albeit reluctantly used in this context? This is surely a step in the right direction, but is it enough? The circus has its own distinctive characteristics that are hard to find anywhere else. It is precisely these that should be highlighted and recognised as equal to the artistic canon. At the same time, it is worth rediscovering the significance of what already exists. We need to dust off the tricks and artifice from the layer of habit that has built up over the years. We should take a closer look at their meanings, because, paradoxically, it is precisely in these two terms that the very essence of circus art may lie.

A ‘trick’ implies dexterity and skilful manipulation that bends the norms of reality. It can outwit the senses and elude expectations. It takes us by surprise. The fact that we allow ourselves to be taken in by it arouses both dissonance and curiosity. How did this happen? By what right does someone tamper with the status quo that we have so carefully built and maintained? We begin to realise that the whole performance required preparation. To be able to carry out something so convincingly, imperceptibly and with such ease as if it were part of the most ordinary everyday life, it takes work. Not a one-off workshop or course, but years and months of trial and error, repetition, and above all, careful observation of reality. And curiosity. The trick involves a thorough understanding of the rules and mechanisms that allows for interplay with them. Deconstruction: rearranging the individual segments of familiar activities or processes so as to ultimately view them from a completely new, unfamiliar perspective. Creating a non-standard form from very standard elements broken down into their constituent parts, which, no longer connected to one another, no longer seem to be the same thing. An unexpected solution emerges, which after a moment turns out to be obvious, yet from the perspective of everyday routine, unthinkable. Circus performers skilfully rearrange the pieces of the jigsaw, combining elements that at first glance seem incompatible. They create new configurations of familiar things. They experiment.

Taming dissonance

Just as happens in the performance ‘Ballroom’ by the Belgian group Post uit Hessdalen, which I had the pleasure of seeing as part of this year’s UP Festival in Brussels. An artist appears on a stage built on the back of a lorry. He moves through a geometrically complex space, full of diagonals, angles and nooks and crannies, reminiscent of the space in Robert Wiene’s ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’. The difference is that this time we find ourselves beneath a bridge. The main motorway runs overhead. A distinctive hum can be heard. It is grey. An industrial dreamlike atmosphere prevails. Instead of the Somnabulist, we encounter a man collecting balls scattered around him. He is using a special vacuum cleaner to do so. The movements are ergonomic; using...