CirCairo, the First International Circus Festival in Egypt, concluded its activities with a colorful closing ceremony on El-Muiz Street last Saturday, the last evening in a series of circus performances that took place throughout October. The shows were staged at different venues around Cairo — including Geneina Theater, Balloon Theater, and Darb 1718 — in addition to public streets and squares — including El-Muiz Street and Aslan Square. The festival was organized by Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy (The Cultural Resource) in cooperation with the Delegation of the European Union in Egypt, the Ministry of Culture's Foreign Cultural Relations Department, and the Egyptian Tourist Authority. Audiences were delighted with Old Cairo's pleasant atmosphere as they were entertained with shows by Les Trois Points de Suspension from France, Ecole de Cirque de Liban (Circuna) from Lebanon, Starbugs from Switzerland, El Darb El Ahmar Arts School from Egypt, Circus Rotjeknor from the Netherlands. Les Trois Points de Suspension from France was established in 2001 and is composed of three acrobats specializing in aerial acrobatics with the musical accompaniment of jazz player Jerome Colloud. Their exceptional show is a mixture of circus art, clowning, and jazz, which they often perform for audiences in the street in order to have a closer interaction with the audience. Another standout performer was Ecole De Cirque de Liban (Circuna), a Lebanese team established in 2007 under the supervision of Swedish organization “Clowns without Borders.” They have performed over 100 shows prior to CirCairo and have their own circus festival entitled “Week of Laughter,” which takes place in various locations throughout Lebanon. They are currently working on performing a show called “War and Peace: A Black and White Story.” Starbugs is a team of three clowns from different nations that was assembled in 1996 in Bem, Switzerland, a city where they formulated an original circus art they called “Rhythmic Comedy” which fused comedy with dance. The group entertained the audience with their graceful acrobatic movements, as well as with the impressive lighting and music. The team is working on developing workshops to educate children worldwide. The closing ceremony featured a performance entitled “Storm” by Rotjeknor from the Netherlands. Upon the conclusion of this year's festival, audiences were left hoping for an equally entertaining follow-up festival next year.
