Sunday Arts Magazine

23 Aug 2021

Mitch Jones Circus Oz

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Over 100 circus artists delve into the next unbelievable

As part of the Circus Oz experiment, the Circus Arts Incubator Fellowship program introduces five circus creatives committed to uncovering the next Australian circus arts provocation.

Each receiving a $40K stipend over a six-month period, the Fellows represent a powerful force of diversity that covers First Nations, disability, queer, social politics and wickedly humorous approaches to inclusion.

Harley Mann, a Wakka Wakka man from Queensland, grew up on Gadigal country. Mann is interested in the value of land and how it holds memory and the relationships to country. His driving ambition is to establish a First Nations physical movement and circus company.

Award-winning Jarred Dewy hails from in Adelaide. He is a National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) graduate and spent nine years as part of the Circa ensemble. Jarred’s fellowship will focus on the identity of all things queer, raw, subversive and surreal through a hybrid of acrobatics and drag.

Acclaimed mid-career artist, Jess Love will focus on stories told through beautiful images and physical feats. Love wants to challenge the status quo on gender, sexuality and lifestyle. She explains, “I want to make work for children that teaches them that difference is exciting and cool.”

Mitch Jones is a physical performer with over a decade of creating thought-provoking and playful shows that experiment with genre and style. He wants to take audiences on a wild ride through the absurd, darkly comical and visually surreal.

As an adventurous street performer, Roya the Destroya shocks and disrupts strangers into a soulful and joyful exchange. With global experiences, she has busked in the Middle East and performed at the White House. Roya’s fellowship will focus on representation for disability artists and audiences.

The five Fellows will join over 100 other circus performers selected to be part of the Circus Arts Incubator Associate program to take-over and activate many spaces throughout the enormous Circus Oz headquarters within the Collingwood Yards precinct.

Circus Oz Executive Director, Penny Miles, explained that these new Circus Oz Arts Incubator programs attracted over 80 applications covering over 200 artists, “This is a major turning point. It’s a new era to support a broader range of circus arts. We cannot wait to witness what they discover.”

“We’ve striped back our entire building to give artists access to spaces and resources to research, test and create new possibilities. They will have access to over 2,000 square metres of space (approximately half an acre) – this includes two large rehearsal rooms as well as a range of new studio spaces we’ve transformed from existing offices,” said Miles.

Circus lovers can access a special Sneak Peek pass to see exclusive scheduled and last-minute viewings as well as time to meet and engage with the Circus Arts Incubator Fellows and Associates.

Circus Oz will launch the $80 Sneak Peek pass soon. It will cover eight months (October 2021 to May 2022) of varied moments that test new circus experiments before they hit the main stage.