SMELLS LIKE CIRCUS

Award-winning choreographer Alexander Vantournhout dives into his quirky souvenir collection. Mona Lisa hoodies, Monet socks and Magritte apples twist and turn into fantastic surprises: sleeve holes appear in unexpected places, trouser legs turn into evening gowns, and zippers unlock hidden worlds.

With acrobatics and dance, performer Miguel do Vale brings this playful universe to life. A magical, imaginative show for a small and wide-eyed audience.

Step into ‘The Labyrinth’ at the Wintercircus, a free, drop-in experience where jugglers explore rhythm, balance and motion. Every throw creates a trace, every gesture a new shape. Sounds come alive in a vibrant, visual playground of lines, dots and patterns.

In the 1950s, Suzanne and her husband amazed audiences worldwide with a breathtaking trapeze act. Ten meters high, without a safety net. Every movement had to be precise, confident, and exact. All or nothing, every time. Sixty years later, Anna meets the now 90-year-old Suzanne and uncovers her forgotten story. She reflects on the circus of the past: the freedom, the risks, the beauty, and the impermanence.
By bringing Suzanne’s act back to life, Anna searches for what endures over time. What remains of us, our risks, our gestures, our former beauty and perfection? Grace or time: which one prevails?

Take a seat on the picnic blanket and savor the moment! Two circus performers, an actress and a musician, invite you to experience a series of seemingly everyday events filled with mini-stories, spontaneous actions and surprises. In this 'relaxed performance,' theater and life blend seamlessly. Watch, listen, taste, or simply enjoy being together with others, all in your own unique way.

In the vibrant solo performance 'Ostentation', Sophia Rodriguez explores the imagery of the female body. She magnifies clichés and turns them inside out, peeling back layer after layer. Effortlessly transitioning between absurd exaggeration and sharp observation, Rodriguez moves from bold nudity to colorful costumes to a trapeze. She invites the audience into an engaging game where the lines between ‘being’ and ‘representation’ are constantly shifting.

‘BLANC’ unfolds in a stark white space where cups, oranges, nails, knives and even sweat become tools in a fierce experiment of the body. It draws you into the world of someone wrestling with fear, control and perfectionism. With humor and brave vulnerability, Sébastien Wojdan reveals just how thin the line is between control and surrender. A charged visual performance about the struggle to simply be human

No festival without a closing party! This edition, Boegbeeld takes the role of guest curator to bring the whimsical scent of Smells Like Circus to the newly renovated Ballroom for the very first time. Expect performances, activations, installations, and DJ sets.

As your brain slowly awakens, we serve breakfast and coffee.The topic of this morning conversation is documentary circus: real stories on stage. Set your alarm clock!

With the State of the Circus, the Flemish circus sector makes its voice heard. What’s happening, what’s moving, what’s alive? Expect an impassioned speech.

Circuscentrum presents the in-depth publication ‘Circus & Woord’. Several artists and companies provide insight into their future publications and dreamed visions, and we invite publishers to join the discussion.

How can we put the rich past and present of the circus on the map in an accessible way? We are collectively committed to writing and enriching Wikipedia articles with texts, images, and data.

When is something “inspired by” and when is it a copy? What is original and when does something become a shared movement? Circus artists share their experiences and engage in conversation with experts on copyright.