In Alicante, the contemporary circus festival Circarte marked its ongoing commitment to juggling, acrobatics, and performances that blend dance, theatre, and music. Since 2009, the event has brought more than twenty activities across six municipalities within the province, unfolding over eleven days between October 6 and 21. Despite economic pressures, the festival pressed forward this year, maintaining a strong focus on accessibility and family-friendly programming, with a special emphasis on shows that appeal to broad audiences.
Circarte unveiled its full program this Tuesday, revealing a fourteenth edition that stretches across Alicante, San Vicent del Raspeig, El Campello, Altea and Guadalest Valley, with additional stops in Beniardà and, this year, Benimantell. The organizers signalled continued momentum with plans for early November street performances, as part of Circarte’s Path of Performing Arts in Rural Towns initiative led by Lomi Szil, who oversees the project’s artistic direction.
The majority of the program comprises a dozen shows and six workshops, featuring fifteen national and international companies from Germany, France, Castile and León, Catalonia, Extremadura, the Basque Country, and the Valencian Community. The festival also includes an exhibition, a parade, and a screening of a film titled circumnight, a cinema presentation by Ingmar Bergman at the Arniches Film Archive. (Circarte 2023)
The festival opens on Friday the 6th at Las Cigarreras in Alicante with an exhibition curated under Circarte’s direction, showcasing photographic works titled Photo via Circarte, coordinated by José Abellán and Federico Menini. The program features Fractal Space, an aerial gala that covers fabrics and suspension techniques, and hosts a wide range of international guest artists. The Circarte Family program brings activities to the neighborhood on Saturday, the 7th, including Ecoaltea Fair, a circus workshop, and the sharing of festival information. (Circarte 2023)
High Range Company and Pascual Arnau contributed to the visual presentation of the event, adding a dynamic layer to the open program. (Circarte 2023)
The weekend culminates with a two-person circus workshop at Bancal Escènic de Beniardá in the Guadalest Valley on the 8th. The week features work-in-progress performances by circles from Beniardà and Benimantell, including Passage and David Consuegra, as well as the show BoBaş, which relates to Jimena Calletti. Bancal Escènic—the site of Circarte’s spring festival—has been integrated into the festival schedule. (Circarte 2023)
Du’k’to, a Catalan company, arrives in Alicante with an acrobatics workshop on October 12 and presents an evening show on Friday the 13th. Lume offers a blend of acrobatics, clowning, juggling, and trapeze on Plaza de la Cruz in the Virgen del Remedio district of Alicante. The same day, the cigarettescompany Jean Philippe Kikolas, a native of Burgos, sets up a domed tent to present a screening of a recently released show, Duel, an emotional journey that weaves black humor with classic circus techniques and clown language—followed by two more shows the next day. On Saturday the 14th, Arniches Theater hosts the Miguel Barreto Company and Little Victoria Cen performing an acrobatic dance duo titled I’m sorry for introducing you as if I didn’t know you. (Circarte 2023)
The Circarte program continues on Sunday the 15th with a circus workshop at La Alcoraya, followed by a major event at Alicante’s Main Theater featuring Creaturean, an inter-autonomous demonstration by Malabart from Extremadura and Production period from the Basque Country, where music, poetry, and circus converge. (Circarte 2023)
The final week includes events at the University of Alicante Auditorium on the 18th with the Gladis Project, the annual showcase by the Creator of the Alicante Circus School, and on October 20 Maite Guevara will illuminate the afternoon at El Campello Culture House with her show. The festival’s finale on October 21 features a family circus workshop and the participation of two French and two German companies, presenting a cycling-inspired show and a wordless visual piece Life is Short Stories, underlining Circarte’s international line-up. (Circarte 2023)
Creatura, staged at Alicante’s Teatro Principal, rounds out the festival program as an important highlight for audiences seeking a powerful, immersive experience. (Circarte 2023)