Closing panel 'On safety and risk-taking'

This panel will explore the ambiguity of safety and risk-taking. And dive deeper into the evolution of safety in the circus arts.

Moderator

Petra Van Brabrandt is a philosopher and head of research at Sint Lucas Antwerp - School of Arts KdG where she also teaches semiotics, cultural criticism and artistic research. She writes about art, pornography and feminism. In her book Art or Pornography she explores, together with art philosopher Hans Maes, where art and pornography meet. Together with Ilse Ghekiere (Engagement Arts), she is working on a book about the myths about #MeToo in the arts. For Engagement Arts, she gives lectures and workshops on the nude, power relations and myths in art and art education.

Panelists

Jan Naets works since 20 years as a circus-technician with different companies. To name some of them, in order of appearance, Les Arts Sauts, Dragone, Buren cirque, Studios de cirque de marseille (now known as Gratte Ciel) and then later as a technical manager with Cirkvost and since 10 years as co-artistic director and technical manager for Compagnie Basinga. During these 20 years, aerial disciplines and rigging have always been around. Even if jan wasn’t working as a rope access technician, through courses and experience, he developed his understanding and knowledge in the field of anchorage points, materials, rigging, responsibility, standards and laws and how to combine all these with an artistic direction. In circus, we imagine, invent, train, create, improve, change, divert or "misuse" objects, or even transgress… A huge flying trapeze rig in bamboo poles ? A high-wire artist that doesn’t walk on steel but on synthetic wire…? The set-up of the line, during the show, in front- and with the helping hand of the audience ?... One doing the set-up and one doing the walk, do we share responsibilities and risks? Does risk stop where danger starts? How to walk the line between danger and risk ? Liability and proficiency two sides of the same coin… ?

Dr. Franziska Trapp is a postdoctoral researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. She is the founder of Circus | Studies and organizer of international conferences, including Semiotics of the Circus (2015), UpSideDown—Circus and Space (2017), Semaine du Cirque (2020), Écrire l’histoire du cirque (2022) and New Circus. New Architectures? (2024) and editor of the recently published anthology 360° Circus. Meaning. Practice. Culture (Routledge 2023). Trapp has worked for various circus productions such as the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain (FR) and Cirque Bouffon (DE) and collaborated as a dramaturge with Tall Tales Company (NL), Sysmo (BE), Julia Berger (DE) among others. She was awarded third place as Germany’s Best Junior Research Talent of 2019 (Academics/Die Zeit) and received the DGS Young Researchers Price 2020 (German Association of Semiotics) for her book entitled Readings of Contemporary Circus. A Dramaturgy (De Gruyter 2020, Routledge 2024 (EN)).

Laura Tikka is a multi-skilled circus performer and a circus teacher, with MA in educational sciences. Before embarking on her teaching career, she spent 25 years touring the world as a performer in “Millennium Show” and “Levade Noble Horse Gala”. She worked in “Cyclope” and performed during 5 years for Circus Monti in Switzerland. She began teaching circus alongside her career as a performer, eventually transitioning to full-time teaching several years ago. She currently works primarily as a teacher at the Turku Arts Academy and at Sorin Sirkus in Tampere. Since 2023 she is member of the managing board of FEDEC. She has also been working as a rigger and stage manager in productions and is a certified level 1 IRATA rope access technician.

Stav Zelniker started her circus career studying one year in Carampa Circus School in
Madrid, learning all circus disciplines and two years in Flic Circus School in Italy,
specializing in swinging trapeze and comedy, followed by one-year autonomous
training in Montreal with Victor Foumin. In 2023 she graduated from ESAC (Superior School of Circus Arts) in Brussels specialized in swinging trapeze and comedy.Stav has a background in dance.