Continuing our celebration of 25 Years of Cirque Bijou, each month we’re looking back at some of our favourite projects.
Battle for the Winds
Battle for the Winds was a truly epic project. It was conceived and delivered in partnership with the Desperate Men and involved many of the South West’s leading circus and street theatre artists and companies including Forkbeard Fantasy. It became the largest outdoor arts project in 2012 outside of the opening ceremony in London.
The Show
Battle for the Winds celebrated the launch of the Olympic sailing events in Weymouth and Portland. It commissioned seven outdoor arts companies and artists to create a machine to capture the wind and bring it down to Weymouth.
These seven machines paraded their way across the country. They performed fifty two shows across seven counties before arriving in Weymouth for the finale show on the beach.
The project also brought Diverse City and Cirque Bijou together for the first time. Together we created Breathe. This was a key part of the battle for the winds story, involving many local and international disabled artists and young people.
The final show on the beach involved cranes, landing craft, and 2,500 people wading into the sea with fire torches.
One of the greatest takeaways from this show for us was the creation of Extraordinary Bodies – the UK’s first integrated circus company. Read about this innovative collaboration with Diverse City on our blog post.
