Underground Circus Arts Subculture

6Jul2005 Filed under: Observations

If I was still A) a sociology student or B) the editor of a west coast culture magazine, I would write about the emerging circus underground. Has anyone else noticed that all the old ravers, freaks, artists, burners, etc have all become fire spinners, burlesque dancers, stilt walkers, jugglers, and (yes) hoopers? How there are packs of supposedly bad-ass drunken clowns wandering around? How hipsters are trying out acrobatics and trapeze work and el diablos and what the fuck is up with that? Is it just the trickle down of Cirque du Soleil that made the circus cool with the American underground? 10 years ago you certainly didn’t see a lot of fire eating stilt-walkers at underground parties, and now those fuckers are everywhere! It seems like every city has a pack of Cirque du So ‘n’ So and Dream Circus and El Circo and Erotic Cirque and oh my goodness! If I wasn’t writing about movies 9-to-5 and working on a book proposal (yes! still! update coming soon, I hope!) I would do some investigating and write about the topic. Since I don’t have the time, would someone else do so, please?

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8 Responses to “Underground Circus Arts Subculture”

mark
July 7th, 2005 at 7:37 am

Yup, I’ve been noticing the same thing. I really knew something was up when I saw The Mutaytor perform at a trade show . . . and then I found out their going to be shipboard entertainment on a cruise (albeit a non-standard one).
Molly Golightly
July 7th, 2005 at 7:53 am

A bit Burning Man all-year-round, perhaps?

Klowns and bunnies. And santas. And monkeys And art gangs oh my..
leblanc
July 7th, 2005 at 10:12 am

same here, same here. enjoy it, i say! i personally think the permanent circus here in SF is awesome which is why i wrote this: “VPFSM ISO VPFSW” - http://www.amyleblanc.com/index.php?id=P1164

a lot of people don’t think it’s awesome though. in fact, there are whole tribes bitching about it.
http://smarmyideologies.tribe.net

i’m not sure if the Cirque is fully responsible, but it sure is cool. most of the participants here seem to be emerging from either the theatre / performance art culture or burning man. or, both, as they are somewhat intermingled. not as much as you might think, though. a lot of theatre/performance artists here hate burning man, and get offended when people assume that because they’re a half-naked contortionist that they must be a burner. it’s a little elitist. but that’s a whole other topic.

(p.s. ariel, there you go again with your “those crazy kids” talk!)

i just feel blessed to live in a city with subcultures like this, fleeting or not.
ivy
July 7th, 2005 at 10:47 am

Are you trying out a new writing style for size?

Clowns are disgusting and scary. There is no hipster reclamation of them. They are just freaky-deaky. I used to work at a costume shop and it was our experience that everybody who came in for clown makeup had some kind of issue. That girl who wrote about how she will be in her human makeup on the playa until it rains and her human skin reveals itself? Spun-YUN!

Hmm, maybe that’s the problem. We all used to be so spun that suddenly clowns are cool to our crippled brains. I would like to do a study comparing ecstasy use and the acceptance of clowns.

I also like how their is suddenly some crazy Burning Man rivalry between Santas (which I knew about) and Clowns. I also like how Klown is spelled with a “k”; just like “woman” with a “y”.

Then again, I’m all jaded and East Coast, so what the fuck do I know?
Ariel
July 7th, 2005 at 9:16 pm

Leblanc, I’m not sure if it’s totally fair to classify this as a “those crazy kids” talk, since A) I’m a hooper (making it at the very least a hypocritical “crazy kids” talk) and B) many of the folks I know who are into circus arts are right around my age.
leblanc
July 8th, 2005 at 9:52 am

i know, A - i’m still a crazy kid too! it’s just when we get older and start getting a little more perspective, even when talking about ourselves it starts to sound like “those crazy kids!” talk. which is actually very funny.
leandra
July 13th, 2005 at 10:26 pm

don’t forget the new, exciting world of aerial dancing…the new firedancing as they say…
Monica
July 22nd, 2005 at 1:50 pm

There’s a book called Freaks & Fire on this very thing.
I forget the author, but could look it up.
Also, I have a book on a related but different subject which I hope will be out soon…

Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.

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