Knowledge on the ring!
H18:00-19:30
“I Pomeriggi” series
H18:00-19:30
“I Pomeriggi” series
Knowledge on the ring!
Presentation of a research-creation workshop on autobiographical circus
The event is part of the series I Pomeriggi dedicated to the Fellows.
Curated by Tania Simili (Fellow Milano Calling / Circus History and Culture).
Contemporary circus, far removed from a sequence of acts lacking logical order, remains an open-ended field, difficult to define due to the richness and variety of its forms. Among its dramaturgies are those based on the extreme vulnerability of the performer: the act of telling one’s own story. These circus writings conceive the body not only as a tool for performance but also as a repository of memory and a witness to a life journey. The resulting performances, described as autobiographical, are both the subject of the doctoral thesis of the artist-researcher Tania Simili and the starting point for this encounter outside the academic sphere.
This research is carried out within a practice of research-creation, taking shape through a performative conference in progress and a series of workshops realised in collaboration with other artists and researchers. Following an initial workshop in Lebanon with Tamara Badreddine, Hanadi Rajeh, Fadia Tannir, Éric Deniaud and Omar Gabriel, Tania Simili invites the artist and performer Majo Cázares, the independent researcher Gaia Vimercati, and the artist and director Juli Sando.
During the two days of research preceding the public presentation, the artists will experiment together with scenic forms capable of transforming the material of the doctoral research into a sensorial and circus experience. Guided by the thought of Michel Foucault—particularly his reflections on the relationship between knowledge, pleasure, and desire—they will explore the possibility of establishing an embodied relationship with knowledge through the circus body. Each artist and researcher will lead, in turn, a scenic exploration, with the others supporting them: Gaia Vimercati as an external gaze, Majo Cázares for the circus and performative score, and Juli Sando for the creation of a short video performance based on footage filmed during the first workshop in Lebanon.
At the public presentation, these initial experiments, conceived as a work in progress, will be presented, thus laying the foundations for the “staging” of a doctoral thesis. The audience will be introduced to Tania Simili’s research on autobiographical circus, alongside the first scenic proposals of Gaia Vimercati, Majo Cázares, and Juli Sando developed within this workshop.
I Pomeriggi is a transdisciplinary series curated by the Fellows of Istituto Svizzero. Drawing on their ongoing research, Fellows in residence in Rome, Milan, and Palermo conceive events and initiatives presented within Istituto’s public programme, fostering dialogue between art, science, and research. The series embraces a range of formats, often involving external guests and partners, including conferences, seminars, performances, concerts, walks, and other initiatives.
Gaia Vimercati (she/her) is an independent researcher and cultural project manager for Quattrox4, a contemporary circus centre in Milan. She earned a Master’s degree in Comparative Literatures from Trinity College Dublin (2015) and a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages and Literatures from the University of Milan (2012). In 2016, together with Filippo Malerba, she founded Censimento Circo Italia, the first mapping of circus companies in Italy. She has been a keynote speaker for A SAFER SPACE FOR DANGER (Antwerp, 2024) and TAKE CARE – CIRCUS DANCE FESTIVAL(2025), alongside artist and activist Amanda Homa. She has participated in numerous conferences, including BIAC 2021 (Marseille, 2021), CIRCUS AND ITS OTHERS (Davis, California, 2021; Bogotá, Colombia, 2024), and the EASTAP conference (Bologna, 2020; Milan, 2022). In 2022, she published for La Biennale di Venezia Sott’acqua tutte le isole si toccano. Il lascito di Monk e Mnouchkine alla Biennale del ’75 and the article Chaplin, Brecht, Fo: toward a Concept of Epic Clowning in the anthology 360°. CIRCUS MEANING. PRACTICE, published by Routledge. Since 2021, she has curated the project LA PAROLA AI CORPI, a hybrid residency combining theory and practice in contemporary circus. In 2023–2024, she was among the 10 fellows selected for the New Horizons Leadership Program. Together with Maristella Tesio and Teresa Noronha Feio, she edited the Italian translation of Open Letters To the Circus by Bauke Lievens and Sebastian Kann, published by Editoria & Spettacolo (2024).
Majo Cázares (they/she) is a Belgian-Mexican-Colombian zinneke, performer, educator, external eye, author, and producer. Their performative practice places the body and its expressivity at the centre of the stage. Driven by a deep love for variety and challenge, their work spans cabaret, circus, dance, physical theatre, burlesque, and nightlife, engaging audiences of all ages. A graduate of the ESAC circus school (2015), Majo has worked and collaborated with Cabaret Mademoiselle, Side-Show, Monki Business / TENT, Lumen Creations, GOP Varieté-Theater, Circus Monti, BLUEBACK, The Sassy Cabaret, Cirklabo, and Misty Lotus Productions. They have also co-created the projects Persona (Naga Collective), Stripclub MeufX, Bum&Boum, and JERK. Their work has been supported by the National Fund for Culture and Arts (FONCA) of Mexico, both individually and with the project Persona. In 2020, they served on the jury for FONCA national grants in the circus category. In 2023–2024, they were among the fellows selected for the New Horizons Leadership Programme (NHLP EU), co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. They teach at Brussels Art & Pole Studio, are part of the coaching team for creation projects at Cirklabo, and serve as a guest lecturer for artistic support in the Personal Projects and Practice-Based Research courses in the Bachelor in Circus and Performance at Fontys Academy of the Arts, Tilburg.
Juli Sando (they/she) is a filmmaker, performer, and artist. They are active in filmmaking as well as performance, multimedia installation, writing, and sound experimentation. Their work intertwines poetry and politics, interrogating language, identity, and society. Their practice focuses on invisibilised moments and disappearing phenomena, seeking to trace possibilities of resistance within the plurality of identities. Their most recent film, Fuku Nashi, particularly addresses issues of racial mixing and the weight of origins in relation to family and personal identity, through an intimate approach. In their installations, they work with video and sound materials, sometimes immersively, often through sculptures or engravings in wax or metal. Alongside their personal practice, they curate the Bureau des Questions Importantes festival, act as sound curator within the collective laptopradiø, and are a founding member of the collective FAAB G (Feminist Antiracist Asian Based in Geneva).
Tania Simili (she/her) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and a researcher in contemporary circus dramaturgy. After training at FLIC and ESAC, she developed a distinctive style combining juggling and aerial disciplines. She co-founded the company Courant d’Cirque with Sarah Simili, and the company Cirqu’en Choc. Among Courant d’Cirque’s creations are Plasma—winner of the encouragement award from the Department of Culture of the Canton of Valais—Boutès, and Fluides. Among Cirqu’en Choc’s creations are Chocolalalalahhh and Gnoko Bok. She regularly collaborates with artists from the Lebanese scene, particularly with the Collectif Kahraba. She holds a Master’s degree in Performing Arts, and her doctoral thesis at UNIL focuses on autobiographical circus, maintaining a constant dialogue between theory and practice.
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Credits: Omar Garbiel