WHEN CONTRASTS JOINED THE CIRCUS:
How Defying & Obeying Gravity
Revitalized a Suffering Art Form Called 'Circus'
– A Master Thesis by Christel Klan Stjernebjerg
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NoMAds:
Nordic Master of Dance Studies
November, 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION... 3
2. SUBJECT, STRUCTURE & METHODOLOGIES... 5
2.1. Method: Seeking Eclectic 'Truths'... 6
2.2. Circus & I: Together Apart... 10
2.3. Circus & Society: Being Grounded While Flying High... 11
3. HISTORIES BEHIND CIRCUS HISTORY... 14
3.1. Choreographing Circus History: Diverse Unification... 14
4. A 'PROPER' VOICE FOR MUTE CIRCUS BODIES... 18
4.1. Exposing Gaps in Permanent Writings About Ephemeral Circus Bodies... 18
4.2. Modes of Representation... 21
4.2.1. Rhetorical Stylistics: Writing and Written Bodies... 23
4.3. EWCP: Unfamiliar Families & 'Freakery'... 24
4.3.1. Interpellations of EWCP: 'What a Circus!'... 35
4.3.2. Potential Objections & Gaps... 40
4.4. CWCP: Identification & Alienation... 41
4.4.1. Interpellations of CWCP: 'Join the Circus!'... 60
4.4.2. Potential Objections & Gaps... 69
4.5. A Future Paradox... 71 5. CONCLUSIONS...73 6. ABSTRACT... 74 7. REFERENCES... 75 7.1. Literature... 75 7.2. DVDs & Websites... 78
1. INTRODUCTION
The circus phenomenon has become a subject of growing academic interest. It reflects the relatively recent attempts to apply scholarly thoughts to reasons and meanings behind circus performances and to come to grips with them as existing within the social and cultural histories of society. However, the field is consistently struggling with problems of infancy and of being disregarded as a widely known, well founded, and important part of academic studies. It is my overall claim that a lack of more adequate terminologies that convey and contextualize circus performances' stylistic developments is a part of this problem.1
The circus phenomenon has become a subject of growing personal interest as well. As a little girl, my parents took me to see a circus show in Copenhagen by the Danish family circus, Cirkus Benneweis. Families filled the seats surrounding the ring, a ringmaster verbally guided us through a show consisting of animals, clowns, and acrobatic acts performed by primarily family members wearing sequins and glitter. I sat and watched all this with great admiration, but I also remember thinking that this circus family appeared slightly odd; as if it belonged to another world. Eight years later I would once again go to see a circus show in Copenhagen, this time 'Quidam' by Cirque du Soleil. The ring had disappeared, adults mainly filled the seats, no words were spoken, animals were absent, and the layer of glitter was partially removed as a poetic story was told and unfolded through diverse acts, close interaction with the audience, live music, use of everyday-like props as well as advanced scenary and lighting. The artists had different types of skills and came from different parts of the world. I watched the execution of the superior acrobatic skills with the same kind of admiration as I did when I was a child, but this time the oddness was replaced with its opposite: A feeling of being invited into their world. A feeling of being captivated by their multisensory universe. A feeling of being touched by the artists since they communicated stories through their bodies.
Had it not been for these occuring emotions, the thought of becoming a circus performer myself would have never entered my mind. But furthermore, I suggest that the emergence of such emotions stands as one of the core stylistic features of contemporary Western circus performances and is one of the main reasons for their overall success.2 This
Master thesis centres around the hypothesis that circus performances became revitalized mainly due to the introduction of a significant stylistic feature: Identification. The feeling of a
1 Circus scholars such as Hugues Hotier, Paul Bouissac, and the circus company Hors les Murs have made attempts to define the genre's stylistic ontology by listing doctrines. However, I find that these lead to outdated and inadequate suggestions; as histories unfold, there are so many variations of circus performances that it appears to be a more accessible task to look for traits and tendencies through academic terms.
2 Ie. Cirque du Soleil is currently one of the largest theatrical producers in the world and their shows have been seen by more than 180 million spectators (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWu9VmZ3SIo).
spectator's close emotional association with the action/ the story taking place onstage. This feature stands in complete opposition to the acrobatic skills exposed, and, through this implementation, I therefore claim an exposition of contrasts to occur onstage: The foreign and mysterious combined with the familiar and 'real'. The exposition of superior and seemingly unobtainable physical abilites combined with the exposition of human fragility, flawedness and inferiority. The spectators' passive observance in awe of an artist flying high and far away combined with spectators' active engagement with an artist staring them closely into the eyes on the ground. The imaginative combined with relatable everyday-like images. Establishing a common ground while simultaneously distorting this ground.
When taking an overall look at contrasts – creating coherence between antitheses – I argue that this approach benefits all aspects and layers of my Master thesis; including my scientifical approaches. Therefore, the title, various chapter titles and parts of content have an oxymoron embedded: A figure of speech that juxtaposes elements appearing to be contradictory; a comprised paradox. Instead of contradicting one another, I argue - on the contrary, ironically - that the elements can compliment, enrich, and benefit from each other. Just as I suggest bodily oxymorons of contemporary performances to enrich and benefit the circus phenomenon.
2. SUBJECT, STRUCTURE & METHODOLOGIES
Initially I would like to explicate my awareness of the fact that this Master thesis is a creative activity. It consists of a subjective selection of literature within the fields of the humanities, dance, circus, and rhetorical studies that I consider to have relevance for my focus and purposes. These texts are taken out of different contexts and thus, I have attempted to construct my version of coherence between them. My eclectic gathering of narratives. In doing so, I am hoping to create insightful, contrasting, and cumulative links between the fields on both micro and macro levels. My Master thesis is choreographed around the following research questions:
• What are common stylistic traits and tendencies of early Western circus performances (EWCP) and contemporary Western circus performances (CWCP)?3 How can these stylistic changes be articulated and described more adequately?
• How can diverse methodologies be implemented in my research of these matters? How can I combine my embodied experiences with more general meanings behind the developing styles of circus performances in a way that I consider cumulative for the research field of circus studies?
On a more extrinsic and abstract level, the reasons for my choices of eclectic content are 1) to advocate for the advantages of juxtaposing and diverse academic approaches within circus studies, and 2) since the circus archives lack analytical and detailed articulations of my research questions, I argue that applications of more developed academic tools from other fields can be a benefitial way of providing my Master thesis with theoretization. On a more intrinsic and concrete level, the reasons are 1) being an acrobat and a dancer myself, I have a passionate interest in both fields of movement and their academic developments, and 2) the implementation of rhetorical theory can be seen in relation to my Bachelor's Degree in rhetorics. Thus, although it is my ambition to convey relevant patterns and links that have value from a more general perspective, I cannot escape what Alan Munslow calls ”narrative impositionalism”:4 The fact that the content has roots in personal interests and interpretations. Therefore, subjectivity will – consciously or not – affect the content.
3 I have chosen the terms EWCP and CWCP since I argue that these offer more appropriate framings of the shift. 1) Many scholars use the overall labels 'circus' or 'the circus'. These indicate a totalization of the genre which I find deeply problematic when entering more detailed research. 2) I have added 'performances' since this word puts focus on the aesthetic executions onstage; furthermore, the choice of the word in plural leaves room for diversity, gaps, and possible objections. 3) EWCP are often referred to as 'traditional circus' or 'conventional circus', but I argue that these are no longer adequate due to the development of new traditions and conventions. The same goes for the often used terms 'new circus'/' cirque nouveau' for CWCP; I no longer regard this genre as new. 4) I have added 'Western' since circus studies have been dominating mostly in these parts of the world, and since I do not wish to apply nor force presuppositions and generalizations onto the whole world: I argue that the Western world shares certain world views and tacit semantic codes about circus performances in general. 4 Munslow, Alan: Deconstructing History, 1997, p. 63.
Throughout this Master thesis I will attempt to reason my choice of aspects, but at the same time I am fully aware that my selections can trigger objections about lack of details and more nuanced commenting concerning each separate theory, approach, or issue. My introductionary outlines are meant to be in accordance with the current, widespread conception of research as an epistemological, human endeavour; a production of knowledge and narratives closely related to author, language, and context. Bearing in mind the rough thoughts behind Thomas Kuhn's scientific paradigms, I claim that it is an undeniable fact that scholars are ideological products of the specific time they live in. That power structures set general conditions for knowledge for a certain period of time. Built upon a somewhat tacit consensus of certain shared scientific values and prioritizations.
Dance and circus scholars could be said to move around within the same spheres of academic discourses: A shared passion for movement, embodiment, kinesthetics/ kinesthetic empathy, bodily knowledge, and all the struggles that follow with ways of providing these nonverbal dimensions permanent words; ways of unravelling obscure theoretization. Along with an increasing interest in these studies also comes a need for a similar increase in the worth, legitimization, and expansion of their very existence. I believe that if the research is not carefully thought-out, the field can suffer from a tendency to fall in a paradoxical trap: The passionate and well intended attempts will prevent rather than support a cumulative process (I
claim cumulativity to be especially important here, given the small amounts of scholars compared to other academic disciplines). I argue that it is crucial to cover diverse aspects in order to analyze and conceive body movements; in order to respectfully use language to validate ephemerality. I therefore consider the choice of method and methodologies to be of great importance: The nature of data depends on the methods used, the choice of perspectives affects the whole research. But what constitutes 'proper' research? And is it hipocracy to seek an answer to such a complex question from a postmodern angle?
2.1. Method: Seeking Eclectic 'Truths'
I will briefly summarize the strengths and weaknesses of what I consider to be the most mentionable scientifical movements since I consider this to have great relevance for this Master thesis. The postmodern conceptualization of academic research initially arose as a reaction to the scientifical worlds of realism (the world is regarded as independent from human beings) which can be linked to an essentialist idea of believing in a true essence that constitutes a person/ a phenomenon and that remains irreducible and immutable. This perspective is roughly founded on a nomothetic and ontological search for a neutral, universal, and more well
defined hierarchy of truth that cannot be affected from the outside; this search can come in different shapes, such as positivism. An advantage of traditional approaches can be reductionism: A more simplified overview through thorough empiricism. However, seeking axiomatic conclusions can have a tendency of forcing causality and linearity to fit into framed boxes. This can cause gaps and disregards of reflexivity, relativism, and everchanging developments. Postmodernists claim that traditional scholars' wide use of truthseeking possesses the risk of creating a hierarchy that leaves no space for irregularity and incoherency.
Beliefs in essences, objectivity, and empiricism were challenged by different movements of antirealism (the world is regarded as dependent on human beings) throughout the 20th century; among others constructivism, hermeneutics, and phenomenology.5 Along with the pioneering thoughts of Immanuel Kant, Michel Foucault etc. came an increasing interest in revealing the inconstancy of truth through patterns of thought and behaviour. Scientific theories were regarded as a result of human activities: Instead of reflecting 'reality', they function as cognitive products of subjective interests defining their shape. The problema-tization of an acclaimed neutral connection between a phenomenon and a literary expression, between form and content, had a major effect on the humanities. Following the linguistic turn, the access to knowledge was now claimed to go through language. Writings are narratives based on other narratives. By stating that the world is a mess, incapable of being systematized, scholars were opposing to the idea of memetics and linearity.
Despite gaining great dominance in the fields of the humanities, these perspectives of diversification are not entirely unproblematic. Firstly, they mess with overall simplicity and unity; to an extend where authors risk being accused of chaotic or cynical states of deconstruction and dematerialization. A radical relativism that potentially insults the efforts of past 'truth-seeking' researchers. If everything is put into discourse, it could potentially mean that everything can be dissolved as a dramatic consequence. A postmodernist would argue that, instead of diminishing, scholarly writings become enriched, and, ironically, a bit closer to our 'realities'. Furthermore, we cannot force something to fit neatly into a system - we cannot force coherency and causality by trying to tie otherwise disparate events together – and if we do so, the author's awareness of this should be articulated; initiating critical independent thinking and taking ownership of one's intellectual activities. I endorse these aspects, but I also endorse the critique that a heavy focus on inductive reasoning, through ie. idiographical research, can have a tendency of containing so much embodied subjectivity that in worst cases traits of solipsism
5 I declare my awareness of how essentialism and constructivism could be seen as the most rabid forms of respectively realism and antirealism. This is done to clarify opposing approaches from where a range of multiple scientific approaches and methodologies can be found in between.
are shown. This can cause difficulties with decoding more general, useful knowledge. Due to dance and circus studies being fairly new disciplines, many scholars pursue their work through postmodern approaches. June Layson articulates how some dance scholars' ”radical questioning has remained at the ideological stage and has yet to produce either alternative working models or outcomes”.6 A critique that could be similarly addressed to circus scholars.
However, in my view, none of the above has the answer; scientifical interdisciplinarity does. Constructivism needs essences and essentialism needs constructions. Deductive results can be idiographical and social constructions can be nomothetic. With my choices of language throughout this Master Thesis I wish to reflect acknowledgements of these oxymorons: Subjectivity and non-totalization through 'open' verbs, 'vague' prepositions, and nouns in plural meanwhile attempting to construct and convey coherent, possible 'truths' that allow more generalizing statements. Distinguishing between scepticism and cynicism towards past writings.7 Dance anthropologist Drid Williams states that dance research should be ”based on complementary opposition” that ”is capable of drawing out theoretical and taxonomic contrasts and similarities from a higher level of organization.”8 Thus, I am seeking a research model that allows multiple answers and embraces oppositions. Where investigations of stylistic features are allowed not only through either personal experiences nor empirical research; where theoretical bridges are built and dichotomizations are avoided. A model ”that can emphasize the notion of individual agency but still give equal opportunity to multiple historical narratives”,9 as Lena Hammergren articulates. This is not an easy task; many considerations are to be done: To intellectualise, contextualise, and intertextualise narratives, to define appropriate academic topics, and to acknowledge subjectivity as well as the creating forces of language.
Paula Saukko's research model appear to provide me with answers in this potentially hipocritical matter. Her pragmatic and consensus theoretical approach combines three (seemingly opposing) methodologies - hermeneutics, (post)structuralism, and realism - in order to find ”some common ground to determine what constitutes 'good' or 'valid' research”.10Her theory is structured around a search for several, possible 'truths' and ”a threedimensional
6 Adshead-Lansdale, Janet; Layson, June: Dance History: An Introduction, 1994, p. 13. June Layson's own research has been equally criticized by some postmodern scholars; her works could be said to stand as somewhat traditional representations of a more simplified, narrow, and truth-seeking conception.
7 The distinction between scepticism and cynicism is mentioned by ie. Alan Munslow and Alexandra Carter; the latter states that deconstructionist narratives can ”unravel the nature of historical knowledge until we can't see what's left” and ”doubt the integrity of all sources” (Carter, Alexandra: “Destabilising the Discipline: Critical Debates about History and Their Impact on the Study of Dance” in Rethinking Dance History, 2004, p.17). 8 Williams, Drid: Anthropology and the Dance: Ten Lectures, 2004, p. 2.
9 Hammergren, Lena: ”Many Sources, Many Voices” in Rethinking Dance History: A Reader, 2004, p. 27. 10 Saukko, Paula: Doing Research in Cultural Studies: An Introduction to Classical and New Methodological
interest in lived experiences, discourses or texts and the social context” (p. 67): 1) Understan-ding lived experience demands a hermeneutical/ phenomenological approach that suits the purpose of understanding lived realities, 2) the interest in discourses is linked to a (post)structuralist analysis of tropes and patterns that shape an understanding of our social, cultural, and research environment, and 3) analyzing the social context is linked to a sort of 'realism', seeking to convey how the society and its structures operate. The latter aims to describe the world 'as it is', meaning its essentialism stands in opposition to the model's other methodologies. She similarly writes about the strengths and weaknesses related to each isolated approach; about the rejection of a search for 'truths', she articulates the potential deconstruction of a solid hierarchical foundation on which research stands: ”If we take the principle of understanding different realities and listening to multiple voices to its logical extreme, we end up embracing the relativist idea that any perspective is as good as any other” (p. 67).
I will be using these methodologies by interweaving 1) knowledge through my rhetorical education and my lived experiences with circus performances (hermeneutics/ phenomenology), 2) selected scholars' literature linked to circus performances as well as analyses of selected performances' tropes and patterns ((post)structuralism), and 3) historical contextualisations and comparative studies between EWCP and CWCP ('realism'). The methodologies will overlap each other, not be purely separated (the hermeneutical and phenomenological approaches will obviously, in one way or another, influence every word written since these are all results of my choices). Firstly, by discussing selected issues, I will be zooming out and focusing on overall aspects of the circus phenomenon. Secondly, by analyzing/ comparing selected texts/ circus performances and implementing my own experiences - moving up on the taxonomical ladder - I will be zooming in and applying these issues concretely to circus artefacts; supplemented with interdisciplinary theory. Lastly, I will once again zoom out and tie the different parts together. Thus, my conclusions will be reached through my construction of coherence between subjective descriptions and 'realism'. Throughout my Master thesis I will expose possible objections and examples of researchers that have conveyed knowledge that do not fit neatly into my synthesis since it is not my aim to produce totalizing statements, rather, it is to look for more nuanced traits and tendencies.
Through this model I strive towards 'good' and 'valid' research of my hypothesis. Although this model demands a wide and complex view full of contradictions, I believe that a common ground can be established where subjectivity and objectivity, text and body, passivity and activity, histories and rewritings can go hand in hand instead of pushing each other away.
2.2. Circus & I: Together Apart
Having been a gymnast on a hobby level since I was four years old, a professional acrobat and artistic creator for fifteen years, and an artist in Cirque du Soleil - where I performed 987 shows and thereby outlived an intense embodied experience with a contemporary circus company - the interest in this topic appears obvious. Furthermore, I see my experiences as somewhat well reasoned inductive representations of more overall characteristic developments of CWCP which I shall attempt to explicate throughout my Master thesis.
I had never dreamed of becoming a professional circus artist since it did not appear to be an attractive, easy-accessible, nor widespread profession. However, seven years after my first encounter with CWCP as a spectator, I found myself signing a three year contract as an acrobat for the very same company, Cirque du Soleil. This time a show entitled 'LOVE', taking place at Hotel Mirage in Las Vegas. 'LOVE' is a coorporation between The Beatles and Cirque du Soleil and the show is still running to this date.11 The cast consisted of artists with many types of skills from many different countries; among these were for instance a 76-year-old actress from Brazil (Silvia Aderne), two gumboot performers from the ghettos of South Africa (Michael Tumelo and S'fiso Mavuso), a 52-year-old Russian actor (Eugene Brim), an aerialist from Belarus (Alevtyna Titarenko), as well as urban/ contemporary dancers and floor/ aerial acrobats from Europe, Africa, Asia, North, Central, and South America. I spent three years in this multiethnical 'melting pot cast'; a process that entailed copings with both cultural and aesthetic diversity: From figuring out how to celebrate Christmas together with so many different traditions involved to figuring out a choreographic structure onstage that allowed/ represented all the different skills and styles.
Having gained intense knowledge by being situated within this universe in many different ways, I share a great amount of passion for this type of circus and I acknowledge the fact that this experience has been affecting certain views of this paper, including the choice of focus on Cirque du Soleil.12 Furthermore, having experienced conflicting emotions about circus artistry and everyday life through my different meetings with different companies – going through periods of both high and low self-esteem as well as both high and low thoughts about general aspects of circus performances – caused me to develop a diverse artistic style myself that combines contrasts which therefore also affects my synthesis.
11 I was an employee from 2005 to 2008, including seven months of show creation in Montreal, where Cirque du Soleil has its headquarters. The representatives of The Beatles collaboration were Sir George Martin, his son Giles Martin, Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, and Olivia Harrison; providing the legal rights of using the Beatles' music for the first time ever in a theatre production.
12 Ie. various European and Québecois contemporary circus companies do not have an altogether positive attitude towards the commercialized Cirque du Soleil. The many contrasting aspects of this company I shall return to.
This can obviously both complicate and benefit the research process: Since I argue that a certain level of general usefulness must enter a research, it becomes more difficult to achieve this when being personally this much engaged into the topic: My choices have to be made with an awareness of not solely forcing my own views and aims by selecting material that fits these. But since I am also arguing that the researcher must acknowledge subjectivity and can benefit from lived experiences, I will make an attempt to implement these in a way that I find relevant and avoids a navel-gazing exercise of repeated self-reflection. In other words, I will try to look at circus performances through objective subjectivity, together apart: From the inside as well as the outside. With the help of Paula Saukko.
2.3. Circus & Society: Being Grounded While Flying High
”The diversity of this popular performance form makes it one of the most exciting and fascinating areas of cultural activity to explore and to analyse for its contribution to society”.13 I endorse this introductionary statement by Peta Tait and Katie Lavers in The Routledge Circus Studies Reader (an anthology which I consider to be one of the most 'valid' recent contributions to postmodern studies about circus performances, containing pluralistic perspectives on circus performances related to science, society, and other art forms). Circus performances are filled with interesting aspects to contextualize. Lisa Burns points out how the ”very little scientific attention” that the field is suffering from could be argued to not add up to the ”privileged status in our society.”14 Although it does provide the field with the similar potential of adapting quickly to new circumstances and change of scientifical paradigms, as June Layson stresses about dance studies.15 But the scholarly attention on the field is continously growing and there is certainly an increasing production of interesting circus literature to engage in from an academic perspective.
With the risk of stating contextualising hyperboles, it strikes me how this increasing interest as well as the significant developments of both dance and circus performance styles can be seen in relation to scientifical movements following the linguistic turn: Throughout the mid/ late 20th century, major stylistic changes were seen in both the fields of dance and circus. I postulate that it is most likely not a coincidence that new and diverse styles within both fields arose and expanded roughly within the same time frame as the scientifical fields. To take circus
13 Tait, Peta; Lavers, Katie: ”Introduction: Circus Perspectives, Precedents and Presents” in The Routledge Circus
Studies Reader, 2016, p. 1.
14 Burns, Lisa: Through the 'Front Door' to the 'Backyard': Linguistic Variation of the American Circus, 2003, p. 1.
15 According to her, dance history has the ability to ”unlike the longer-established general history discipline, respond, adapt to and even embrace radical modes of thought in an immediate manner” (Layson, 1994, p. 11.)
performances as an example, Robert Sugarman states: ”Out of the ferment of the counterculture in the 1970's new circuses appeared” that brought a ”human scale to performance.”16 This 'human scale' could be argued to resemble similar traits of postmodernism in both circus and dance: An overall emphasis on human beings' influence on arts, techniques, styles, and content. A focus on the body's phenomenological articulations, individualism, creativity, diversity, social commentary, narrativity, and semiotics. It could be argued that animals, glitter, and 'freaks' were removed from circus performances, and that ballet shoes, pointed toes, stiff skirts, and defiance of gravity became replaced with bare feet, bare skin, and grounded movements in contemporary dance performances to place a more humanized aspect at the centre of performance. To dig into the seven layers of skin and all the way through to the bones of the human being moving on the floor. It could also be argued that hierarchical segregation slowly diminished as diversity invaded the field; both artistically, aesthetically, and anthropologically. These tendencies could be seen as intertwining elements in a postmodern, global wave; all effecting one another continously.
Linking the 'human scale' to society, I argue that contrasts occur constantly in our everyday Western lives: While a longing for 'authenticity', identification, and exposition of flaws are crucial parts of our current mentality, there is also a longing for superiority, facade, and idealization amongst us. The rapid expansion of social media use in general could stand as a reflection of this oxymoron: Being personal in public. Sharing 'immediate' moments from 'real' life that are simultaneously staged and manipulated with. Raising a question of whether these moments are 'fake' or 'true'. Photo filters, that cover up facial imperfections, are often added to our profile pictures on Facebook, meanwhile the hashtag campaign '#nofilter' stands as one of the most popular hashtags in the world.17 We somehow shift between these opposing modes on both conscious and unconscious levels. We praise humans that dare to expose traits of insecurity and inferiority that exist within us all; at the same time we focus on individuals and phenomenons that are 'out of this world' spectacular in both positive and negative ways. We take pride in expressing our innermost, fragile feelings and at the same time we maintain masks that cover up this fragility. Retouching and unretouching simultaneosly in order to make ourselves feel superior to others and at the same time create common ground with others. Shifting in and out of the ordinary. Standing out and fitting in. Feeling stereotypically unique.
16 Sugarman, Robert: The Many Worlds of Circus, 2007, p. 1.
17 ' #nofilter' means that an uploaded image is unretouched and thereby remains 'authentic'. This hashtag stands as the no. 31 most used in the world in 2016
To take popular Western TV talent show concepts as an example, such as 'So You Think You Can Dance', 'Britain's Got Talent' etc. - which often include dancing and circus performing contestants - it has become a common feature to expose personal insights into a contestant's offstage life prior to the onstage performance. Often stories are conveyed that can include close social relations, childhood stories, self-esteem or disability related issues etc. that usually touch the recipients and remind them that we are all human. This is usually followed by a high quality artistic performance onstage. Leaving both the contestant, the judges, and the audience members captivated and emotional in the end. I argue that the popularity of these show concepts are based on the combination of storytelling and advanced skills being shown; on both the backstage person/ persona construction and the onstage performer. The appreciation of the performance would have not been as intense without the story prior to the performance. To use Erving Goffman's terms, the worlds of 'front stage' and 'back stage' behaviour18 could be said to move closer to one another; creating oxymorons such as public privacy, produced 'authenticity', and inferior superiority. I argue that the simultaneous exhibitions of identification and admiration mainly cause these emotions and the success of these concepts.19
I suggest that such conditions in the Western world are similarly exposed as a crucial feature in many CWCP. I add 'many' since I do not expect this to function as a totalized statement; paradoxically, I am also suggesting that the diversification of CWCP do not allow all-encompassing generalizations. Peta Tait and Katie Lavers express how there is an 'inherent paradox' surrounding the circus phenomenon: ”As soon as one attempts to set boundaries that define or categorize the circus, it mutates, chafes at limitations and transforms itself.”20 Although I must agree, it is my belief that it is crucial and possible to look for/ suggest trends and terminologies. I am hoping to reach somewhat a balance in my investigation of these features and whether they have played an important role in the revitalization of a suffering art form called 'circus'. With the help of Paula Saukko.
18 Https://www.thoughtco.com/goffmans-front-stage-and-back-stage-behavior-4087971.
19 Examples: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm4t1vE96Qw, https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=HCp3_jaYOZ4 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJCSfDtPaw.
3. HISTORIES BEHIND CIRCUS HISTORY
Linked to the Foucauldian thought of knowledge and history existing within culturally and socially determined power structures, Susan Foster's book Choreographing History (hence the following chapter title), consists of two words that semantically indicate an oxymoron: By choreographing history, the past is just like a dance; a human construction in eternal movement, not a static representation. The way that these movements are put together depends on the choreographer. However, 'essences' are sought in each historical endeavour; subjective rewritings of history which I call palimpsest.21 The circus researchers included are the ones whose historiographical approaches and inputs I find relevant to my choice of topic. I will be focusing on diachronic outlines and historical matters that I consider to be 'valid', somewhat consensus-based, and relevant in regards to Western circus performances' development.22
3.1. Choreographing Circus History: Diverse Unification
The unified, complex term 'circus' is assumed to derive from the Greek word κίρκος (kirkos), meaning 'circle' or 'ring'.23 Since circus acts are now performed in all kinds of places and
surroundings, the literal meaning of the word has proven to be inadequate. Peta Tait and Katie Lavers have, after putting many thoughts and multiple angles to the problems of defining the term, ended with the following suggestion as a working definition: ”An art form which explores the aesthetic potential of extreme physical action by bodies (animal, human and post-human) in defiance of cultural identity categories including species, and usually performing live with apparatus in big to small enterprises, often with costuming, music, or sound score, lighting, and technological effects uncluding filmed footage. Audiences have an expectation that circus offers extended muscular action and physical expertise with dynamism that exceeds social norms and is framed in ways that will surprise and excite, and circus is particularly focused on direct engagement with audiences. The skills needed to make circus are a unique blend of acrobatic and artistic and, in its immediacy, its liveness, the circus performer places
21 A Greek expression that means 'abraded again'; a parch handwriting where the original writing has been erased and replaced with new writing (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palimpsest). By distinguishing between my self-made terms 'EWCP' and 'CWCP', I have constructed palimpsests myself.
22 Overall measures of precaution include 1) the majority of books are written by circus enthusiasts and therefore subjective premises have been set, consciously or not, 2) the vast collection of American books often
emphasize the importance of American circus entrepreneurship and patriotic achievements. An interesting example of two books standing in methodological opposition to one another is Circus: A World History (1976) versus The Many Worlds of Circus (2007). The title differences - singular versus plural - indicate the
traditionalist way of creating one chronological, coherent truth versus the postmodern aims of not forcing coherency nor causality between the different chapters. The contents of these two books are obvious results of the above mentioned strengths and weaknesses, and I have therefore seeked a compromise between them. 23 Http://clownopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Circus.
herself/ himself at risk, whether perceived or actual.”24 I find this extremely long suggestion to
clearly indicate problems and complexities concerning the 'circus' term when no additional labels are attached to it.
Based on historical records, 'circus'-type performances have occurred since ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Acrobats, contortionists, and clowns go all the way back to 2,500 B.C. (although there is no consensus about whether these displays and whether Roman Circus' circulatores - strolling jugglers/ mountebanks - were technically within the category). The before mentioned κίρκος is first attested in the 14th century. If not the primary, then the 'official' father of EWCP is considered to be ex-cavalryman Philip Astley who in 1768 introduced his horse show in a circular stage in London. This sort of aristocratic art form became accessible to laymen through productions at public marketplaces. As time passed, jugglers, acrobats, mimes, and clowns were included; Philip Astley's originality consisted in gathering these already existing art forms and transforming them into a more democratic, commercial art form. The circus phenomenon expanded during the 18th and 19th century and became an international art form throughout Europe and North America. At that time 'circus' was considered to be almost exclusively demonstrations of acrobatic skills. During the years arose a need for gaining independence from permanent buildings and the tent concept emerged; the nomadic identity through touring EWCP was established. This also meant that shows no longer required constants renewals since there was no need for attracting audiences to a specific area through longer periods of time.
The touring EWCP slowly developed into family professions; self-sufficient dynasties passed on the tradition from one generation to another, and they still do. Thus, it became a way of life: People married into travelling circus families, babies were born into it, and not only the show - but the whole organization - consisted of family members. For instance, the Clarke dynasty stretches back to the beginning where horseman John Clarke began to work for Philip Astley. Other legendary dynasties include families such as The Flying Nelsons (England), The Flying Wallendas and The Konyots (Hungary), The Hodginis (the family genealogy remains untraceable, but it is estimated that they have been performing for 350 years in Europe and North America), The Stoinevs (Mexico/Bulgaria), The Tognis, and The Zoppés (Italian).25
The seats in today's family EWCP are primarily filled with families and children, but that appears not to be the case prior to the 1880s: The audience included a broad range of people despite age, sex, and social status. EWCP arose accordingly with the breakthrough for
24 Tait & Lavers, 2016, p. 6.
the entertainment industry which came as a result of the industrial breakthrough in the mid 18th century. EWCP gained popularity within the 19th century and became one of the preferred types of Western entertainment. Performances developed significantly through the next fifty years. Acts from different families began to be bought and implemented into bigger shows by American entrepreneurs such as The Cole Brothers, The Ringling Brothers, William Cameron Coup, Phineas Taylor Barnum etc. The latter was one of the main developers in revolutionizing American EWCP: From the 1840s and onwards, he introduced 'Menagerie & Circus', a travelling combination of acts performed by various families, animals, and human oddities that would turn out to increase the amount of children in the audiences. Later he shaped circus performances into three-ringed spectacles, implementing 'freakshows'/ sideshows well into the 20th century; something that became central magnets of his show places. The format, whereby a ringmaster introduces a varied selection of acts - mostly performed to traditional music - developed in the latter part of the 19th century and continued almost universally to be a main
style of EWCP all the way up until the 1970s.
After World War II, their popularity declined as new forms of entertainment arrived: Theatres, vaudevilles, amusement parks, and movie theatres/ television increasingly threatened EWCP. From the 1960s, EWCP also attracted growing criticism from animal rights activists. Many companies went out of business or were forced to merge with others. It was concluded on Fifth International Circus Congress in 1972 that EWCP' ”lack of sophistication is supposed to be responsible for its alleged decline, at a time when the world is progressing toward higher aesthetic values”.26 Nonetheless, travelling EWCP are still active in various parts of the world, ranging from small family enterprises to three-ring extravaganzas. But the majority of them are stagnated, struggling with financial problems. To take Denmark as an example, families such as Cirkus Dannebrog and Benneweis have been touring with their shows respectively since 1880 and 1887, with the addition of the more recent Cirkus Arena. In 2014, Danish media wrote that close to all family circuses in Denmark are on their way to bankruptcy and the owner of Circus Arena, Benny Berdino, declared the following if the government do not grant them fundings: ”Ellers vil der måske ikke være noget, der hedder cirkus i Danmark om fem år”.27 Similarly, documentaries such as 'Circus Rosaire' and 'Sawdust – Life in the Ring' tell the stories of American and Italian circus families that are struggling to survive.28 They have become EWCP mostly in ruins and with Kenneth Little's words ”cost-cutting mud shows in
26 Bouissac, Paul: Circus and Culture, 1986, p. 3.
27 Http://politiken.dk/kultur/scene/ECE2242630/danske-cirkus-er-paa-vej-mod-konkurs/.
28 About the Zoppés family and the 9th generation of the family Rosaire that have been touring with shows since 1842.
poor shape, working on shoestring budgets, often hiring inferior acts and itinerant workers they can only just afford”.29
The rising of CWCP is a result of various influences. Contemporary styles originated from performing arts movements in the 1970s, ie. in Canada, France, USA, and the United Kingdom. In 1974, Alexis Gruss recreated Philip Astley's Parisian circus from the 1770s and that same year, an alternative circus school opened in Paris. There was a desire of young, reactionary European mountebanks to change the reigning signatures of EWCP, to (re)create a more 'authentic' and diverse art form and to reach out to a new audience segment: Young people and adults. This change was supposedly not to be seen as a rejection of EWCP, in fact, it originally contained a desire to return to ancient itinerant street performances and saltimbanco.30 Instead, it could be seen as a critique of ”a theatrical scene judged to be ossified”31 to use Martin Maleval's words.
In 1985, CNAC (the National Centre for the Circus Arts) was established. Schools started to gain greater participation as it was no longer a requirement that one was born into a circus family in order to become an acrobat. The former training and education through companies of EWCP created a more preservative form while companies of CWCP had/ have their foundation on alternative and diverse starting positions: A gathering of artists from different countries with different abilities. In Denmark, the newly established school AMOC (Akademiet for Moderne Cirkus) had their very first 12 graduates in 2017, among these are only few Danes.32 Early examples of pioneering contemporary companies include Cirque Plume, Cirque Archaos, and Cirque Baroque (France), Cirque du Soleil (Quebec), and Nofit State Circus (Wales); more recent examples are Teatro ZinZanni (Seattle), Cirque Éloize and Les 7 Doigts de la Main (Quebec), PURE Cirkus & Skewed Circus (UK), and Cirkus Cirkör (Sweden). Companies that have all achieved success worldwide. Thus, the Western circus phenomenon was revitalized and aspired to reach a new level of social and artistic acceptability.
29 Little, Kenneth: ”The Circus in Ruins: A Comment on ”Lion on Display: Culture, Nature, and Totality in Circus Performance” by Yoram Carmeli” in Poetics Today, 2006, p. 598.
30 A street acrobat. English has lost the word 'saltimbank' from current usage, but it is still used in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian as saltimbanco, in French as saltimbanque; meaning 'one that jumps upon a bench' (https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/saltimbanco).
31 Maleval, Martine: ”An Epic of New Circus” in The Routledge Circus Studies Reader, 2016, p. 52. 32 Http://www.afukamoc.dk/eleverne/.
4. A 'PROPER' VOICE FOR MUTE CIRCUS BODIES
4.1. Exposing Gaps in Permanent Writings About Ephemeral Circus Bodies
”The visual representations of aspects of life are seen through a circus performance”.33 As simple as this sentence by Lisa Burns sounds, it is filled with complexity. My claim that a main reason for CWCP' increase in popularity – and equally EWCP' decrease - being the visual representations of contrasts through identification/ familiarity versus superiority/ unfamiliarity, activates a difficult task of proving through academic language. Conveying metaphorical images of relationships between artist's 'real' self and artist's ideal self as well as between artist and spectator. Conveying the presentation of new body images that - each in their way, tying together body and self as well as body and society - contribute to/ are a result of new tendencies and ways of thinking. With these hypotheses in mind, central questions occur: How can morphologic and semantic plot constituents - visual metaphors through signs and symbols - be 'properly' linked to Western circus performances, and what is lacking, in my opinion, from interesting works done by other scholars so far?
This chapter is concerned with the depiction and discussion of academic researchers who have touched base with stylistic representations in circus performances as acts of communication. Through an eclectic gathering of literary 'snapshots', I will try to expose the postmodern development that has grown to exist within the post-linguistic turn research field; explicating juxtapositions and similarities, strengths and weaknesses. By doing that I intend to 1) credit selected scholars' pioneering work in an aim for research cumulativity (although the number is continously growing, the amount of scholars is still small compared to other academic disciplines, and I therefore find it important to build on their works), and 2) take a critical stance towards parts of their work in my presentation of a research gap concerning lacks of more adequate terminologies surrounding stylistic developments of circus performances. Despite disagreements, there tends to be an overall consensus that 'circus' is filled with contrasts, acts of communication and modes of representation. Scholars such as Brenda Assael, Helen Stoddart, and Lotte Hansen mention how 'circus' offers a vantage point for the study of antitheses and "contradictory and corresponding impulses” in terms of ”order versus disorder, transgression versus respectability, foreign versus familiar”, ”the concepts of 'illusion' and 'reality'” as well as ”softness and strength, closeness and distance.”34
33 Burns, 2003, p. 1.
34 Assael, Brenda: The Circus and Victorian Society, 2005, p. 13; Stoddart, Helen: ”Aesthetics” in The Routledge
Circus Studies Reader, 2016, p. 16; Hansen, Lotte: ”Legende kroppes bevægelseskunst” in Bevægelsens poetik – om den æstetiske dimension i bevægelse, 1998, p.181.
Some of the earliest academic studies of circus performances as powerful language were done by one the most esteemed theorists, semiotician Paul Bouissac. Inspired by linguists Roman Jakobsen and Ferdinand de Saussure, he explores acts as narrativity and how they are understood through signs and symbols in an attempt to provide benefitial tools when using language to validate actions of the past (as Susan Foster would say). As he states about the problem of ephemerality: ”Logicians, linguists, and semioticians have debated for decades how to define an action because the phenomenology of real life does not provide clear-cut boundaries between actions and between action, reaction, motivation, intention, competence, planning, implementation, context, and consequences.”35 Traits of postmodernism are apparent both in his eclectic way of combining methodologies (ethnology, folklore, literature, semiotics, and linguistics), in his declared subjective point of departure (ie. from 1964 to 1966 he ran an experimental circus himself), in the avoidance of historical diachrony and lastly, in his cautiousness about the deductive values of his discoveries. Through his anticipation of acts as narrative structures of articulation, syntax, and semantics, through an analysis of the progressive stages – such as the relationship between the addresser and the addressee, the element of danger, codes/ subcodes etc. - he creates insights into the cultural relevance of 'the circus' and could be said to contribute with attempts of ”consistent and detailed terminology and thesauri that characterize the more established academic disciplines” to use June Layson's words.36 Furthermore, he breaks a tendency of past scholars' focus on practical circumstances such as architecture and social organization.
However, both a constructivist and an essentialist could oppose to the theories and content of his earlier work. Although he states that this is not ”to cover the entire phenomenon of the circus,” he continously takes use of the term 'the circus' in definite article and claims that his research is an attempt ”to outline possible approaches for a general theory of the circus as a specific language.”37 As if 'the circus' can stand as a permanent totalization. I would argue that there are paradoxes attached to his aims: Suggesting generalized theories while simultaneously wishing to avoid nomothetic conclusions. He touches base with this Master thesis' hypotheses when implementing Algirda Greimas' theories about narratives' contradictions: ”Signification is grounded on systems of opposition” and meaning only occurs through ”relations to contray and contradictory terms.”38 He also articulates how stylistics can be closer or further from 'real life': ”All actions performed are obviously possible. But their staging can make their goal appear more or less within the reach of a normal human being” (p. 40). However, these multimodal perspectives are rooted in a sole focus on danger and stirred action.
35 Bouissac, Paul: ”The Staging of Actions: Heroes, Antiheroes and Animal Actors” in The Routledge Circus
Studies Reader, 2016, p. 37.
36 Layson, 1994, p. 15.
37 Bouissac, Paul: Circus & Culture: A Semiotic Approach, 1976, p. 10. 38 Bouissac, 2016, p. 39.
Similarly, Helen Stoddart and Martine Maleval have written chapters about communicative aspects of aesthetics. Martine Maleval gathers common features of three 'Western circus' performances (CWCP) arguing that 'circus' has developed into an art form. Helen Stoddart concludes that 'the circus' (mainly EWCP) with its ”spectacular immediacy” contains aesthetics that prioritize ”effect over thought” and questions whether it could be categorized as ”entertainment rather than art.”39 Although these two and Paul Bouissac contribute with interesting, fundamental groundworks of the communicative and representational matters that I am searching for, I argue that there are two major problems connected to their writings: 1) Due to descriptions of 'the circus' as if it was one entity, not distinguishing between sigificantly different styles developed over time, I cannot give my consent to their generalizing statements, and 2) none of them explore the features of identification and familiarity in details in their analyses.
Postmodern circus historians and anthropologists Lisa Burns and Brenda Assael have been inspired by Paul Bouissac's and Roman Jakobsen's studies of semiotics. Brenda Assael has studied the role of 'circus' (EWCP) in the British society during the 19th century's Victorian Age (Paul Bouissac's comments on her book is explicitly addressed in 'acknowledgments'). She explores the communication process, the narrative structure, and the semantics between the performing circus bodies and the audiences at the time: ”As the acts struck the eye and stimulated the imagination, they triggered a system of meaning to be activated and released”.40 Furthermore, she uses linguistic findings to convey contextual validities, how circus performances resembled structures in society. Her book has explicit roots in postmodernism: ”Since this analysis focuses on the performing body as text, it is influenced by linguistic and cultural turns that have shifted the direction of social history over the past generation.” Furthermore, a synchronic methodology is used by taking "historically contextualized 'snapshots'” (p. 10). She explicitly criticizes more traditional scholars' linear approaches and therefore wishes to expose historical gaps regarding the matter of class distinctions between audience and performers, concluding her findings to ”not fit easily into this long-established framework” (p. 9). Entering the past in this way also means deconstructing the existing narratives; she somewhat dematerializes earlier conclusions and requests a palimpsest. Something that scholars such as Michael Means and Lisa Burns have done as well.
A response was written by Yoram Carmeli, who has also been studying British 'circus' (EWCP): Although Brenda Assael has a unique take on the role of EWCP in society during the Victorian Age, he articulates how there are certain major problems connected to her arguments and use of methodologies. Even though the book ”makes use of a wide range of new documentation” which brings new discoveries into play, he expresses his concerns about ”the
39 Stoddart, 2016, p. 18. 40 Assael, 2005, p. 8.
unavoidable limits of the material at the historian's hand.”41 This is not necessarily a problem if the author states an awareness of it; but it can become a problem when the historian makes conclusions based on little evidence. In terms of disposition, he states that her 'snapshots' seem ”to have drawn her attention away from the exploration and analysis of the relationship between circus acts.”42 I find the above mentioned critique by Yoram Carmeli to resemble some of the possible downsides to postmodern approaches as mentioned earlier: 1) A lack of coherency between analyzed elements can lead to arbitrariness 2) an inductive investigation has the risk of relying heavily on the author's interpretations, and 3) induction does not necessarily constitute validation for deductive conclusions. The latter referring to the same problem as mentioned about Paul Bouissac.
It is my overall opinion that the above mentioned scholars have heightened the academization of circus studies through their pioneering works. However, my crucial objections are these: 1) None of the above stress the importance of distinguishing between early and contemporary styles, 2) none of the above look for traits and tendencies as opposed to definitions – in my view they have problems finding a balance between unifying traditionalism and diversifying postmodernism, 3) none of the above offer specific tools and terminologies to 'appropriately' analyze modes of representation, 4) none of the above engage in a further in-depth, detailed treatment of identification as an important part of contemporary styles, and 5) none of the above has yet suggested the contrast/ oxymoron onstage as a core stylistic feature of CWCP. I turn to Susan Foster's model and rhetorical stylistic theory in my attempt to eliminate these acclaimed gaps.
4.2. Modes of Representation
Susan Foster's modes of representation are a part of a dance model designed for style analysis that consist of five categories: Frame, modes of representation, style, vocabulary, and syntax. Her postmodern, linguistic theory is also inspired by Roman Jakobsen's model of communication; linking symbols, signs, and tropes to cultural and social circumstances. 'Trope' is defined as a 'change or exchange of words' and ”används i retoriken för olika typer av uttryck som ersätter mer 'normala' ord.”43 Such studies of semantics are founded on either a certain degree of similarity or opposition.
41 Https://networks.h-net.org/node/16749/reviews/17991/carmeli-assael-circus-and-victorian-society. 42 Https://networks.h-net.org/node/16749/reviews/17991/carmeli-assael-circus-and-victorian-society.
43 Hammergren, Lena: Form och mening i dansen: En studie av stilbegreppet med en komparativ stilanalys av Mary Wigmans och Birgit Akessons solodanser, 1991, p. 102.
When zooming in and focusing on the structural foundation of 'typical' CWCP, I roughly argue - like Lotte Hansen - that these have their starting point from the syntax/ vocabulary/ techniques of EWCP: ”Det konventionelle cirkus leverer råmaterialet til de nye kunststykker i form af akrobatiske færdigheder, rekvisitter og fremførelsen af optrin eller 'numre'” while it is primarily the semantics tied to the syntax that have created the most mentionable and dramatic changes; ”nye måder at bruge færdighederne på, behandler rekvisitterne på helt andre måder, og bryder med distancen til de klassiske 'fuldendte' artister.”44 Although all categories are important when doing an overall analysis of choreographies and performances,45 each category can also be used separately to identify certain elements that dominate more than others. I will therefore not prioritize the structural foundation since I do not believe that it unfolds the major issue at stake: Identifying socially significant implicit behaviour. It is my belief that the crucial shift lies within the bodies' representation of world images. As Peta Tait and Katie Lavers put it: ”A sense of representing the world through extreme physical action.”46
Therefore, when zooming out and moving to the hermeneutical, contextualising and functionally focused categories - in this case modes of representation - I find that several essences of this shift become more resemblant (if one dares to come with such dogmatic claims when looking at a field that refuses ontologising). Important to note here is the awareness of the fact that decoding modes of representation require, to some extent, a common sense of aesthetic values - a need for sharing semantic codes - to be able to understand and recognize the moving metaphors in a specific culture. As stated by Janet Adshead about dance choreographies: ”The perceiver has to have some idea of what a dance is, and this, in turn, depends on having seen people doing something that has been labelled in this way.”47 Something that, in rhetorical terms, could be called doxa: A common, tacit understanding of shared norms and values in a society (which could be linked to Michel Foucault's theory about épistèmes). In this case: Aesthetic doxa.
Susan Foster describes mode of representation as ”the way the dance refers to the world.”48 According to Lena Hammergen, a purpose of this theory is to shed a more nuanced 44 Hansen, 1998, p.180.
45 Syntax (ie. Labanotation) can be an important tool for describing the physical execution of movements on a more 'objective' level, not relying as heavily on hermeneutics. However, as Albert Mehrabian states: ”The only comprehensive system of (dance) notation describes movements merely as motion, with no reference to what they signify. Such reliance on physical description alone for nonverbal and implicit verbal behaviour is inadequate”...”it fails to provide guidelines for identifying socially significant implicit behaviour” (Hanna, Judith: ”Dance?” in To Dance is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication, 1988, p. 41).
46 Lavers & Tait, 2016, p. 5.
47 Adshead, Janet: ”An Introduction to Dance Analysis” in Carter, Alexandra: The Routledge Dance Studies
Reader, 1998, p. 166.
light on the juxtaposing images ”det 'verklighetsnära' och det 'abstrakta'.”49 There are five modes: Reflection (exclusive reference to the performance of movement), imitation (spacial and temporal conformity between represented entity and body movement), resemblance (shift between literal and metaphorical representation), replication (a synechdoche, representing a smaller part of the whole), and reflexive (a combination of modes). The latter has the contrast embedded, a combination of abstraction and 'reality'. Lena Hammergren states how this mode can be seen as ”den typ som blandar de andre och genom denne sammenvävning kommenterar sig själv” (p. 103). This mode is exactly what I will investigate in my synthesis, locating this as a crucial trait of CWCP: Alternating between a focus on the admirable acrobatic skills and their own inscriptive weight (reflection) and spectator's identification with the artist caused by recognizable images that are linked to the outside world (imitation, replication, or resemblance). By claiming that CWCP' rising popularity has been a result of a cumulative development of oxymoronic elements being tied together rather than dichotomized, I enter a similar pursuit in my analyses as in my scientifical approaches. I will add rhetorical stylistic terms to this model since 1) I wish to support the five modes with more detailed terminologies, and 2) additional terms will enable me to avoid forcing everything into the five modes.
4.2.1. Rhetorical Stylistics: Writing & Written Bodies
To create a hybrid between the verbal and vonverbal world – to acknowledge both the writing body and the written body – is something that goes all the way back to Aristotle. Supposedly, he was the first in the world to write a philosophical book, Poetik, about artistic processes.50 Poetik derives from the Greek poiesis which means 'to create something'. In this matter, Aristotle invented the word praxis: The motivation behind human action and movement. His stylistic terms are still a fundamental part of rhetorical studies - the postmodern version is entitled 'neoaristotelism' - in which persuasio is a key term: The study of rhetor's ability to touch and convince a recipient. One of five ways to achieve this is actio: The bodily representation in a communicating situation. The few scholars that have investigated actio, ie. Merete Onsberg,51 have concluded that bodies' signals can be stronger and more efficient in areas where verbal decodings are absent.52 One of the reasons being the multisensory ability of 49 Hammergren, 1991, p. 103. ´
50 Engel, Lis; Rønholt, Helle; Nielsen, Charlotte S.; Winther, Helle: Bevægelsens poetik – om den æstetiske
dimension i bevægelse, 2006, p. 10.
51 Onsberg, Merete: ”'Kan du se hvad jeg mener? - om kroppen i retorisk perspektiv” in Rubicon, Vol. 13, 2005. 52 Relevant here could be to mention my BA in rhetorical studies about the Colombian politician, Antanas
Mockus, whose political methods were truly unorthodox: Through ie. nonverbal campaigns and social experiments - such as running through the city dressed as Superman himself or having mimes and dancers regulate street traffic - he became a succesful mayor of Bogotá in 1995; creating noteworthy changes for the
the body: The sight, smell, touch, and sound of moving bodies, the feeling of kinesthetic empathy and interpersonal relations, the activation of the proxemic sense etc. Therefore, dance and circus performances can potentially stand as extremely powerful ways of communication.
When performing bodies are translated into words and these words are translated into other words, it could most certainly be claimed to enter the worlds of rhetorics. The rhetorical scientifical discourses have gone through much of a similar development as the studies of dance and circus. When Lloyd Bitzer stated that language stands as an inevitable, neutral response to circumstances, it was deeply opposed by rhetoricians such as Richard Vatz in the 1970s (interestingly during the same time as postmodern movements, new circus styles and dance styles were expanding). He accused Lloyd Bitzer of determinism; the conveyor is deprived of responsibility and agency. The situation does not control rhetorics, rather, it is vice versa: Subjectivity through rhetor's choices and interpretations of words most certainly affect circumstances. Since postmodern rhetoricians advocate that language partly constitutes the world, it can also mean that the world can be changed by language. The establishment of rhetorics as an academic discipline could be claimed to be a causal product of the linguistic turn and the acknowledged power behind words.
Moving to the sphere of rhetorical stylistics, there is an overall term invented by Aristotle, ornatus: To decorate and furnish language, to provide language with artistry. This is not to be confused with sophistry, rather, it is the exploration of the decorative language's effect on persuasio. An interesting note here is that postmodern neoaristotelians have implemented rhetorical stylistics that are not just emphasizing perfection and ideal writings, but also endorse the flawed and incoherent as a powerful way of using ornatus. This matter I shall return to. Thus, a hybrid between rhetorical ornatus terms and Susan Foster's modes of representation will be created in an attempt to unravel the forces of specific labels and world images attached to circus performers and performances. To explore the reciprocal forces of creating/ created identities and the potential effect that this has on societal developments.
4.3. EWCP: Unfamiliar Families & 'Freakery'
This chapter will be concerned with depicting characteristics of EWCP; focusing on elements such as theme, structure, movement styles, costumes, props, and scenography. Tomi Purovaara argues that the circular stage setting (initially made for the horseriders to keep their balance using the centrifugal force) played a symbolic role: 'Circus' as a microcosm - its own little
closed universe - where families would live with no disturbance from the outside.53 Similarly, it is added in The Many Worlds of Circus that “the ring was practical, but also metaphoric. It became a magic space in which things happened that were far more remarkable than what went on outside the ring.”54 The ring could be said to stand as a mode of replication: A smaller representation of a bigger picture; a mysterious and secluded world where things out of the ordinary took place. A world deviating from 'reality'.
Despite a lot of mystery surrounding EWCP, there is nothing mysterious about a typical structure of a show. Acts are mostly independent of one another. As Ernest Albrech puts it, each act starts "anew to establish itself and make an impact",55 relying on the spectacle. This means that the mode of reflection becomes a crucial element: Focusing on the conveyance of skills. Yoram Carmeli explains how this concept can be an efficient way for a show to carry on even though parts are missing; ”it can be decomposed and its acts attached to other shows".56 Cancelling an act does not cause much disruption and the creative demands are thereby maintained low. About acrobats' contracts with companies, Ron Beadle and David Könyöt write that ”the extent to which the physical content is open to negotiation is limited.”57 The choreography of the act would therefore usually be somewhat pre-defined and based on the mode of reflection. Thus, no intentional stylistic coherency between various elements, and no threads tied to a theme nor the audiences' lived world; and no other modes than reflection present when executing a trick. The (impressive) trick refers to itself – not to recognizable world images as part of a narrative - meaning that the reflexive mode of presentation is absent, since various modes do not occur simultaneously. However, there is one threaded exception: The ringmaster guiding an audience verbally through a show containing a welcome, introductions of artists before each act, and a farewell. An important factor of creating some kind of coherence (Ron Beadle and David Könyöt mention Circus Harlequin's shows as a clear example of the ringmaster's important position), still with the mode of reflection in the foreground since the verbal guidance is mainly based on exclusive references to the literate action taking place. But since this function is also based on greeting and welcoming the guests, it could stand as a form of captatio benevolentiae: To capture the goodwill of an audience at the beginning of a speech; showing how they are taken into consideration.
53 Purovaara, Tomi: An Introduction to Contemporary Circus, 2012, p. 64. 54 Sugarman, 2007, p. 1.
55 Albrecht, Ernest: The Contemporary Circus: Art of the Spectacular, 2006, p. 109.
56 Carmeli, Yoram: ”Played By Their Own Play: Fission and Fusion in British Circuses” in The Sociological
Review, 1987, p. 762.
57 Beadle, Ron; Könyöt, David: ”The Man in the Red Coat: Management in the Circus” in The Routledge Circus
