Trànsits

Luis Mantilla, originally from Guayaquil and currently living in Mendoza, began his journey in movement through gymnastics and later ventured into circus, specializing in handstands. In 2020, together with Julieta Tissera, he founded Proyecto Recóndito, a duo dedicated to movement research, with which he has participated in international festivals and workshops. In addition to being a teacher and former director of Cos Invertido, he currently teaches virtual classes and develops Vestigios, a project focused on the artistic and emotional exploration of movement.

‘Vestigios’

Vestigios investigates handstands from an artistic perspective, questioning their form, meaning, and purpose. It proposes shifting technique from the standard toward invention, understanding movement as a living relationship between body and action. In this approach, technique loses value for its formal perfection and gains it for its poetic power and its ability to create meaning within the work.

Artist in residence at La Central as part of the Iberescena program.

Croma is a contemporary circus company that fuses circus techniques, dance, and theatre to create innovative stage productions. Their work is characterized by the use of object manipulation and the exploration of materiality, generating a unique artistic language.

Efraín Salazar is a performing artist and creator linked to contemporary circus. His work focuses on the exploration of the body, the object, and memory, investigating the intersection between circus, dance, and theatre. He has developed original works such as Ensayo y error, Solo un marco, Alguna vez fui — the latter delving into the relationship between identity and memory through the manipulation of empty frames without images. He has collaborated on various collective projects related to the performing arts between the Valparaíso and Metropolitan regions, contributing his creative and technical perspective.

“Alguna vez fui”

A contemporary circus piece that explores the fundamental role of memory and recollection in the construction of our identity. Through contemporary circus and its combination with other techniques such as dance and object manipulation, the piece tells an intimate and emotional story, inviting the audience to reflect on how past experiences and memories shape who we are.

Artist in residence at La Central as part of the Iberescena program.

Cia Totapedra is a contemporary circus company created in 2025 by Andreu Casadellà and Júlia Clarà, with the aim of developing the show Pífia.
The name comes from the saying “Tota pedra fa paret” (“Every stone makes a wall”), symbolizing the importance of every small gesture or contribution.

Pífia

Pífia is a contemporary circus show currently in creation. From the absurd gesture and tenderness of clowning, we offer a poetic and critical perspective on the world of work and our place within a system that demands more than we can sustain.
With a close, accessible aesthetic and dramaturgy rooted in the body, risk, and physical comedy, we seek to bring out the humanity found in imbalance, error, and persistence.
An endearing character — a clumsy worker in a space under construction — tries to keep order in a world that is collapsing around him. And he will do so with the help of an audience that, without realizing it, becomes an active part of the performance.

In residence as part of the EKO – Pirineus de Circ program.

After 20 years of practicing juggling, Edu has developed his own style that combines circus, dance, and theater. He has trained with renowned artists such as Stefan Sing, Gandini Juggling, and Roberto Magro, and has worked with numerous circus and street theater companies, both in Spain and internationally. Currently, his work focuses on the companies Alodeyá Circ Dansa and Edu Manazas. His work has been recognized with several awards, including the Festival Off de Calle Pilares 2015 and awards for Son Recuerdos and Fuera de stock in national and international competitions.

‘Meraki’

Time passes inexorably. And with it, life goes by. We try to control what happens around us. And in this impossible attempt, we forget to enjoy the unpredictability of life. Putting our soul, time, and love into what we do becomes an act of rebellion. Meraki speaks to us about meticulousness, creativity, and passion in our actions, about cultivating and putting our essence into what we do to leave our own mark and have that mark remain in our life. Before time runs out.

In residence at La Central del Circ, within the framework of the EKO-Pirineus de Circ project.

Aïna Duc is a member of the TBTF collective, based in Bourg-Saint-Andéol, a group of 20 artists who seek to build collectivity in a divided society. She graduated from ESACTO-LIDO in 2023 and has since explored public space with the company Sept fois la langue and hospital clowning with Soleil de clown. Les péripéties du dedans is the natural continuation of her love for clowning and aerial fabric.

‘Les péripéties du dedans’

A clown and a fabric. Les péripéties du dedans is a daring and joyful immersion into the paths of everything that submerges us.

In residence at La Central del Circ, as part of the Cross Residencies with La Cascade.

Teatronas is one of the main organisations in Lithuania that strategically develops the field of contemporary circus in Lithuania and the Baltic region. Apart from development projects and the international contemporary circus festival Cirkuliacija that happens each year in various cities in Lithuania, Teatronas has combined their knowledge in theatre and circus and since 2024 started creating circus-theatre shows. These are created by the artistic director Gildas Aleksa and local circus artists as co-authors. It creates a possibility to have more job opportunities for the artists and develop new audiences for circus.

The 2025 production “Šarūnas” is aimed to find the combination of the old drama traditions of Lithuania and the new circus writing of contemporary artists.

In residence at La Central del Circ within the framework of the Crossed Residencies with Arts Printing House.

Capicua Company has a career spanning more than 20 years at both national and international levels. Among its creations are Cabaret (2010), Entredos (2013), and Koselig.
Its main awards include: Jury Prize at OFF El Pilar in Zaragoza (2009), Audience Award at the Street Theatre and Circus Arts Festival of Ávila (2011), Audience Award for Best Theatre Performance at the International Theatre and Dance Fair of Huesca (2013), Career Award from the Aragonese Circus Company (2014), Territorio Violeta Award (2023), and the Marcelino Orbes Award for Best Aragonese Circus Show (2023).

The company is made up of Yolanda Gutiérrez Encuentra, Rebeca Gutiérrez Encuentra, María de la Paz Arango Quiceno, Miguel Ángel García García, and Irene Estradé.

RUTA
RUTA is a contemporary circus proposal characterized by the use of circus techniques, sound art, and cinematographic language. The main theme of the piece is the encounter between two cultures and two opposing ways of life. On the one hand, the sedentary, who live relatively rooted in one place where few things change. On the other, the nomads, who live in constant movement and transformation.

Juan Fresina Scotto is an Argentinian performing artist specializing in the intersection of contemporary circus and science. His work as a performer and creator explores these connections in pieces such as Qua, Ensayo para a Desorden, and his latest creation, Infinito. This new project, directed and performed by Juan Fresina Scotto alongside Pablo Melo and José Cereceda, specialists in aerial straps, continues his collaborative approach, integrating scientific knowledge and circus techniques to foster an innovative and poetic dialogue between the two disciplines.

In residence at La Central del Circ as part of the cross-residency program with Erva Daninha (Portugal).

HERTZ is the first long-duration creation by Cie Dissociée, following Pacemaker, and explores the themes of fakirism and clowning. Released in February 2024, this piece, suitable for all audiences from the age of 10, integrates theater, performance, and installation. At the center of the stage, a pile of crushed glass measuring 7 meters by 5.5 meters, weighing over 800 kg, interacts with dance movements and acrobatics. The performance questions the limits we impose on ourselves, addressing themes such as pain, resilience, and the boundaries of the impossible. By intertwining fakirism and clowning, HERTZ highlights human contradictions, inviting the audience to embrace their weaknesses and discover a more authentic and resilient humanity.

Marcelo Nunes is an author and performer whose artistic career is based on a constant search for novelty, influenced by his experiences in Brazil and Europe. His practice focuses on three techniques: trapeze, clown, and fakirism, exploring the wild nature of humanity. Since his first work, Pacemaker, Nunes has expressed his worldview through a unique artistic language. On stage, he uses the body as a tool for communication, creating an authentic dialogue with the audience. Through his creations, he seeks to foster a poetic resonance between the artist and the audience.

The company was born from the union of four multidisciplinary circus artists based in Euskal Herria (Oihane Larraza, Gaspar Illoro, Zoe Aldekoa, and César López). Their aim is to explore the poetics of the rural world to reach a shared sensitivity through the language of circus. Their main disciplines include aerials, juggling, Chinese pole, Cyr wheel, acrobatics, and dance. They met while attending the technical training program at INAC (National Institute of Circus Arts) in 2018, in Portugal. After separating and continuing their professional training independently, the artists decided to reunite and create the show Herrari. Driven by shared interests in contemporary language, they work by taking artistic risks rooted in emotions and sensations to engage the audience.

‘Herrari’

Herrari is an itinerant contemporary circus show that invites us to reflect on natural and rural spaces, which have changed significantly due to human presence and, paradoxically, its absence. It delves into the nostalgia for rural life, sparked by the longing for calm and a sense of community in today’s world. Life in cities is becoming increasingly unsustainable due to factors like gentrification, which disrupts collectivity, stripping places of their identity and further severing our connection with nature. The show seeks to build a bridge between rural and urban spaces, fostering a symbiosis between the two. It aims to propose alternative ways of living that are sensitive to the environment, encouraging us to be an active part of the world around us.

Elisa Oliva discovered her love for circus arts while attending film school in London (2016-2018). After completing her studies in the seventh art, she decided to pursue a professional course as a circus artist at Flic Contemporary Circus School (2019-2020), specializing in aerial rope. During that year, she began exploring creative possibilities by incorporating a skateboard into aerial rope performances. After working as a teacher and performer for the Circo all’Incirca company (2021), she decided to move to Barcelona in 2022 to continue teaching and developing her project, TreNotturno, in the European capital of skateboarding.

Gabbie is a dance and circus artist who works as a performer, teacher, stage director, and movement director. She specializes in contemporary dance, acrobatics, and Chinese pole, with over 10 years of stage experience. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with several dance, circus, and physical theater companies, covering a wide variety of performance genres. She has toured both nationally and internationally, performing for theater audiences, street theater festivals, and under the circus tent at various festivals.

Her workshops on acrodance and Chinese pole have been sought after by various higher education institutions and professional companies, such as the Institut del Teatre (Barcelona), CREAT (Valencia), Movement Andalusi (Granada), UNSAM (Buenos Aires), Accademia Dimitri (Switzerland), 2Faced Dance, and NoFit State Circus (United Kingdom).

Girl with a Curl

Girl with a Curl is a fantasy about power and liberation. It delivers a public service announcement on how women have historically been taught to ignore and internalize their anger, conveniently sustaining the patriarchy and ensuring that violence remains on the side of the oppressor. This multidisciplinary and immersive solo piece combines Chinese pole, contemporary dance, acrobatics, physical theater, and text/comedy. The work is comedic, absurd, and carries a strong political charge.

Hristina Šormaz began practicing circus and focusing on aerial rope while studying scenography in Belgrade. She trained as an artist through non-formal education, artistic collaborations, and masterclasses in circus and contemporary dance. She is a member of the Cirkusfera association, dedicated to the development of the contemporary circus scene in Serbia and the region.

Discovering different physical practices became for her a way to question human relationships with their environment and society, which led her to engage in artistic, pedagogical, and social work driven by circus. Since 2018, she has been pursuing doctoral studies in scenography, where she investigates the use of space and matter from a circus perspective.

Currently, she is based in France, where she continues to work in the circus field, as well as in Serbia and Croatia.

‘Traces’

Mariana Fernández is a performing artist specializing in aerial acrobatics and contemporary dance. She has worked with circus and dance companies such as Cirko de Mente, Inside the Body, and Cia. Cracoviana, and has collaborated with the company NonGratos Teatro. As an independent artist, she has participated in international festivals and is the co-director of Mujer Barbuda, Women in Contemporary Circus. Additionally, she co-created projects like Colectiva 9 Gramos and currently directs the company Otra Vez Lunes. She has also been an international teacher and workshop facilitator in the field of circus arts.

La casa está en llamas

La Casa está en Llamas is a project that celebrates functional diversity as a powerful way of living and transforming the world. Using tools from circus, dance, theater, and visual arts, workshops and dynamics will be conducted to highlight the participants’ perspectives, revealing their transformative potential. In a safe space, topics such as self-perception, recognition, self-validation, and personal desires will be addressed, emphasizing the value and creativity of our differences. The circus concept of risk will be used to create performative spaces that will showcase the final proposals.

Morgana was born in Bologna in 1995, with a twin sister. After training in rhythmic gymnastics and studying Psychology at the University of Bologna, she discovered contemporary circus. She trained at the FLIC Circus School in Turin, where she studied clowning, contortion, and contemporary dance. She also obtained a master’s degree in Psychosomatics at the Villaggio Globale in Bagni di Lucca. In 2022, she founded the street circus and theater company Le Vamp and, eventually, resumed playing with Barbies, becoming Miss SBarbie.

Miss SBarbie

Once upon a time there was a plastic body. Maybe 2, maybe 10, maybe a 100… Or maybe a 101! There were once a lot of little cyborgs that brightened the lives of little girls, allowing them to imagine all the possible worlds, places, and moments that those inanimate creatures could materialize and experience. There’s Morgana. 
And there are the Barbies: my friends, my doubles, my audience, my enemies, my superpowers, my bullets… There’s Franchina, the automated car… And, of course, there is Ken… Human!

Arrel trains at the CAU School of Circus and Theatre in Granada, specializing in fixed trapeze. The artist creates and participates in various shows, both circus and other disciplines, standing out in performances such as La Ira, La cultura del odi, or No-conformes. Arrel works as a circus workshop leader and trainer at the Aire Circo Vivo School, La Volta, TuSí(K)Circ, La Rogelio Rivel, Del Revés, and the Caixa d’Eines program, among others, while continuing to train in other scenic and circus disciplines, and is part of Cata Aguayo’s Aerial Creation and Research Laboratory. He/She has also completed a degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology in Barcelona.

‘Lutum’

Lutum is an intimate and brutal journey into the darkest parts of the body’s memory. A raw and organic stage experience that, through circus, symbolic objects, and video projections, explores a territory where fragility, desire, and illness merge. Where the repulsive can bloom and what is sick becomes a shared strength, revealing the relationship between death, sexuality, and gender questioning.

Otra Vez Lunes is an emerging contemporary circus company formed by Sofía Demicheli and Mariana Fernández, two trapeze artists with over ten years of experience on the scene. Their exploration on the trapeze is based on movement research, the search for breaking conventional forms, and using this technique as a poetic and expressive tool through the body in suspension. It also involves supporting each other on stage and on the trapeze, creating a space of trust and mutual support.

This is Not a Love Song

This Is Not a Love Song is a contemporary circus show that explores the complexities of love in pop culture, using satire to question romantic conventions and how they affect female self-perception and relationships. Through the skills of Sofía Demicheli and Mariana Fernández on the trapeze, stereotypes are challenged while creating a poetic narrative through movement. The stage space and visual elements enhance the experience, merging circus art with storytelling in a unique way.

The Circus Company “eia” («unforeseen impulses agreed» in French, “yes” in Sardinian) was founded in 2009 through the fusion of various artists: Armando Rabanera, Fabrizio Giannini, and Cristiano Della Monica (Cirque Vague, Circo de la Sombra, and Le Grand Osim Orchestra), and Francesca Lissia and Celso Pereira (Celso i Frana). With fifteen years of collective experience, five active creations, and over 800 performances in 25 countries, it has established itself as a leading company in contemporary Catalan and Spanish circus. At the core of its creations is a human circus, capable of evoking the complexity of human relationships.

Secrets

Secrets is a creation project for a contemporary indoor circus for five acrobats that will premiere in the Spring/Summer of 2026. In this project we will question ourselves about the passage of time and the transformations that it causes, with special attention on making visible and giving value to those things that we often hide. What would we ask of our last shooting star?

The collective was formed in 2024 following its first creation, Scandale. It originated from an invitation by Martina Monnicchi, who brought together Sofia Zambrano, Karine Saroh, Aïna Duc, Cecilia Stock, Yann Champelovier, Nathalie Maufroy, and Victor Marre-Cast in search of a collective writing process. Beyond this creation, the group aims to produce hybrid performances that engage with and adapt to aerial space.

Scandale

“Let’s try, for once, not to be right.” How does scandal take root in bodies that fight against domination? In bodies that are altered, embodied, and that confess themselves? Scandale aims to explore the construction of norms and the gaze projected onto them. With aerial space as its starting point, the collective works and positions itself at the crossroads of circus, performance codes, and visual arts.

Cie. Le Bar à Chiens is composed of artists Florencia Galimberti, Matthias Elgueta, Lina Ramírez, and Stefano Zacchi, hailing from Chile, Argentina, Colombia, and Italy, brought together by their desire to explore acrobatic lifts as part of the same language.

‘A braccio’

A braccio is a sensory experience that invites the audience to connect with their own emotions and memories, resonating with the deepest parts of their being. A journey where circus becomes the perfect vehicle to explore the depths of the human soul.

Cía. Mesa para Dos, founded by Bryony Fowler and César Bonilla, is a creative entity forged within mutual coexistence, infused with resilience, humor, community, and the unconventional. The artists’ paths crossed in Turin, where they shared an apartment and specialized in aerial rope at the Flic Scuola di Circo, while life took them down absurd paths that challenged social norms. For their current project, they are working with the artistic guidance of Alejandro Dutra.

‘DesMother’

DesMother is a circus exploration based on the satirical narration of this bond, working between the beauty of the margins and imperfection. Through aerial rope and humor that leans toward the absurd and the poetic, it explores the notions of the dirty, the vulnerable, the familiar, and the strange, the shifting of relationships, and everyone’s expectations in art and life. It celebrates friendship, mutual care as a revolution, and the beauty found in the obscene and in what society rejects.

Maragda Induráin and Maria Estela met and studied at the La Madó Dance School (Vilassar de Mar) from 2015. At the same time, each has been trained in different techniques. Maragda Induráin, contemporary dancer and circus artist, was part of the Cia jove Fre3Bodies 2018, studies at the Rogelio Rivel and dancer at the Cia Roseland Musical. Maria Estela, performer and singer, graduated from the Institut del Teatre, resident at Lo Spazio, research centre and artistic practices, collaborates with national musicians and dancers, and works for the next production of the Teatre Akademia 2024 directed by Moreno Bernardi.

Nowadays they are realizing their first project together, the search of stage poetic between the chinese pole, the voice and the word. We will experiment with possible methodologies based on improvisation and repetition dynamics, in order to enter into what music and movement suggest.