"Diaries in Motion" - A new Journey Begins

The Key Visual of the new Scenic Circus production "Diaries in Motion"

A few days ago, we revealed it on Instagram: The new Scenic Circus show production will be titled "Diaries in Motion" and will premiere in September of this year. The diary of the diary now starts here. Blog posts will provide insights into the creation of the show from now on.

The first ideas for the new show emerged already last summer. Departing from our show LYALKA, the theme of freedom was to play a central role, and new ways of storytelling were to be explored using the tools of circus and physical theatre.

Initial setbacks followed: a hoped-for grant was not approved and the project seemed to fall apart before it had even begun. But one thing was already in place: the premiere date in September. It was important not to disappoint the trust placed in us and to get the project back on track. And here we are today: with a clear goal in mind, a cast of four highly motivated artists, and many ideas that are gradually taking shape.

At its core is the idea that freedom is the theme of our time, that its threats are omnipresent yet often abstract. We all want to be free, but we often only realize its value when we experience its limitations. When do we feel free? What does it do to us when we are subjected to repression? In the coming months, we will search for answers using the means of the circus. Circus arts play with imposing obstacles on oneself and overcoming them with means that seem superhuman.

Daniela Levina, student of the Academy for Circus and Performing Arts Kyiv, will be part of the cast.

Circus is a big part of my life, because I've been training since I was four years old. My passion for circus art is growing with every training, with every time I perform on stage, with every applause I receive from the audience. Daniela Levina

The four artists in the cast of "Diaries in Motion" bring very different backgrounds to the show. Daniela Levina is a student at the renowned Kyiv Academy of Circus and Performing Arts. She participated in the European Youth Circus Festival in Wiesbaden last year with her handstand act on a rotating disc, which she is currently presenting in the circus show of the German theme park Hansa Park. In addition to handstand acrobatics, she is training intensively on the Cyr Wheel, which she recently performed with for the first time in the circus building in her hometown Kyiv. This is her home base, to which she regularly returns from her international performances and projects to complete her training and work on new acts.

Daria Ilnytska also comes from Kyiv originally, where she began her circus career at a young age in Oleg Kurinskyi's circus studio, which is particularly known for handstand acrobatics. In 2022, she came to Berlin with a group of classmates, where she is now a student at the State Circus School and focuses particularly on aerial acrobatics.

Lera Kutsenko trained in acting and dance before dedicating herself to the circus. Originally from Moscow, she left her home country in 2021 to start a new life abroad and pursue her vision of circus as a freelance artist and in social circus projects in Western Europe. In her artistic projects, she likes to explore the relations between aerial acrobatics and physical storytelling. Lera is currently studying at the Centre des Arts du Cirque Balthazar in Montpellier.

Lera Kutsenko training at the circus school in Montpellier

My passion is art research and creation. I am part of the circus and devote myself to all its manifestations, I believe in the positive impact of the circus on life and wish to continue its development and spread. Lera Kutsenko

There she met Alina Scharbl, the fourth artist in our cast. Alina is from Austria and moved into circus arts from the parkour community, seeking new adventures and projects during the pandemic. A personal passion of her is performing outdoors in the nature, at special places like on mountain tops. Lera and Alina share a focus on aerial straps and silks, as well as partner acrobatics.

The first phase of show creation is currently about exploring the connections between the show's theme and the artistic disciplines of its protagonists. Ideas for acts or scenes are drafted and tested – all remotely, long before the group comes together for rehearsals.

These ideas and fragments then form the basic framework from which the show's storyline emerges. This is where Berlin theater director Christine Dissmann, who directed our show format "Circus Sessions" last year, steps in. She will later also lead the final rehearsals and, to stay with the image of the show's title, compile the individual chapters into the complete diary.

But before that, there will be a rehearsal block dedicated to the acrobatic group scenes. Interaction within the ensemble will be a key element of the show. Therefore, when assembling the cast, it was crucial that the artists are not only specialists in their circus disciplines, but also all-rounders in the fields of floor and partner acrobatics.

This outlines the schedule for the coming months. The journey has begun. Like every creative process, it will have twists and turns and outcomes that we can't yet fully foresee – and that's precisely what makes it so exciting. We'd like to offer readers of this blog a few glimpses behind the scenes from time to time. We hope you're as excited as we are!