Latest News
23.05.2013 POSTED BY Geraldine
The Muse stadium tour kicked off last night and fans and band were delighted by the giant ROBOT that we'd created for the tour.
Charles, the 4m high, CO2 spewing, moonwalking, fully articulated robot was designed and built specially for Muse by a Cirque Bijou team led by co-director Julian Bracey. Responding to design ideas put to Cirque Bijou by the band, his team of 6 for the 20 date stadium tour also bring with them a beautiful, immense flying LIGHTBULB and a sleek and shiny, water-spouting PETROL PUMP. Two of the team are also performing in the show, appearing as banker characters onstage, in the audience, flying high in the air and also in prerecorded footage created specially for the 2 hour live show.
More pictures will follow!
15.05.2013 POSTED BY Geraldine
Summer 2013 sees our third tour with rock behemoths MUSE.
We've kept our involvement under wraps, not least because we've been incredibly hard at work on some giant props to rival the 12m silver flying UFO that we created for the band in 2010 (above).
Designing, building, testing, rehearsing, tweaking, testing again... and we're ready for the first gig at the Coventry Ricoh Arena next Wednesday 22nd May.
Cirque Bijou director Julian Bracey leads a team of 7 who will tour to 11 countries for 20 gigs between now and August. Tour dates are listed on the band's website.
You'll just have to wait till next week to find out what we've made...
19.04.2013 POSTED BY Geraldine
In 2012, the UK Paralympic games offered the glimpse of a new dawn in which disabled artists, athletes and communities were judged on their own merits and celebrated for their talents.
One year on, we ask the question, what next?
This is our answer.
Diverse City and Cirque Bijou are creating an integrated circus company called Extraordinary Bodies. The Company will contain leading disabled and non-disabled dancers, actors and circus performers, and highly skilled Paralympians new to the world of performance.
We will make shows that challenge perceptions of diverse and extraordinary bodies, old and young - shows that are fun, rock-and-roll and visually spectacular with images that burn themselves to the inside of your eyelids and unsettle your consciousness.
We will push the boundaries and aesthetics of circus and extreme physical performance, reinventing circus skills and equipment where necessary.
What are we working on?
A bold, joyous, radical new show focused on the body.
Diverse City and Cirque Bijou will bring together 8 artists and athletes to create an entirely new piece.
It will challenge perceptions of diverse bodies and build on the positive perception of disabled people that emerged from the media exposure of the Paralympics. Ours is a world where diversity of bodies is to be celebrated, and every body, disabled or not, is regarded as extraordinary.
Extraordinary Bodies is a partnership between Diverse City and Cirque Bijou. It is a direct legacy of the successful collaboration between the two companies in 2012 to create and produce the Unlimited commission Breathe. The project has the support of Circus Space and the British Council. The Paralympics Association have endorsed the project, saying
"Extraordinary Bodies is a really positive initiative, aiming to showcase the incredible skills of disabled and non-disabled people alike. Challenging perceptions and showing what disabled people are capable of is at the heart of our vision and to see this replicated outside of sport, in the world of artistic and theatrical performance, is fantastic. We wish the project the best of luck and hope it helps to build on the positive perception of disabled people that was inspired by the London 2012 Paralympic Games."
Extraordinary Bodies is supported by Arts Council England
