Time to shine - Stage lighting in circus
- Daniel Burow
- May 23
- 6 min read

Circus, in all its forms, is an art that combines various elements. A show only unfolds its full potential when the artists' movements harmonize perfectly with the music, when the atmosphere is right, and the lighting strikes the right balance between focus and spectacle. Understanding and considering the effect of each individual component is the key to a high-quality show.
This article will focus on the component of lighting. Stage lighting has undergone a true revolution since the introduction and rapid development of LED technology – and in two respects. Firstly, the creative possibilities have increased dramatically thanks to technology, and secondly, electricity consumption - before a huge cost driver - went down tremendously.
Large stage shows and concerts today set standards that determine audiences' viewing habits. But it's not always the grand spectacle that counts. Lighting often helps to focus on the artist and create intimacy.

Circus presents unique challenges for stage lighting. Large images and intimate scenes often alternate rapidly. Added to this is often a 360° setting, where classic stage lighting concepts of front and back light, optimal angles, and fixture arrangements reach their limits. Circus also utilizes all dimensions of the space, and especially for risky tricks, the right lighting is not only a beautiful effect, but also a safety factor.
Hungarian lighting designer Atilla Lenzsér is familiar with both the world of concerts and other large-scale events and the circus. I met him after a show by the Budapest-based company Recirquel, for which he created the lighting design. "While stage lighting has to meet the usual expectations – such as directing the audience's attention and supporting the aesthetic – I often also have to meet the specific requirements of the artists," he says, describing the unique challenges of circus productions. "For example, additional balancing lights that improve the sense of space and orientation on stage while simultaneously making the visual experience pleasant for the audience. In a traditional theater performance, you would never point a light at the ceiling, but in a circus act, it can be fatal if one artist fails to see the other artist they have to catch if they fall from above."
Added to this are the special conditions of traveling. When a show travels from theater to theater, it's important to constantly adapt to the changing lighting plans of the venues and often improvise. When an entire circus travels, the equipment is constant but subject to the stresses of touring. Moving light fixtures (moving heads) have advantages and disadvantages on tour. On the one hand, it's ideal for frequent setup and dismantling if the lighting system doesn't have to be readjusted each time by manually readjusting fixed lights. With moving heads, this can be done conveniently from the lighting console. On the other hand, these devices, which often cost thousands of euros, are very sensitive to dust, moisture, or movement.

Personally, I find it incredibly exciting to work with lighting for a show. It's an intersection of technology and creativity. It's about creating emotions from a modular system of possibilities. This modular system is very structured and more or less narrowly defined.
Modern stage lighting systems are controlled via DMX. This is a data transmission protocol in which all elements, i.e., all light sources, are arranged in a row and assigned an address in sequence. If the row is interrupted at any point, for example by an incorrectly connected cable - which typically happens on the evenings before a premiere - the lighting system might go crazy with bright colors.
The modular system often includes both moving and stationary light sources. Moving heads include wash lights for diffuse illumination, as well as spot and beam moving heads for sharp cones and points of light. Added to this is often the fine vapor from a hazer, which makes the light beams truly visible.
Patterns can be programmed from individual groups of moving heads, which can later be combined with colors or other fixtures to create the respective lighting mood. A single circus act can quickly contain numerous lighting moods. The lighting moods are then called up sequentially during the show – manually at the touch of a button, controlled synchronously with the music, or, in technically very complex shows, even fully automatically via a time stamp.
This would describe the standard building blocks. But what is "standard" when we're talking about art? Back to Budapest, back to Recirquel. Stage light plays an important role in the avant-garde creations of director Bence Vági and his style of "Cirque Danse." In the production "Solus Amor," for example, which I was privileged to experience before my conversation with Atilla Lenzsér, extensive work is done with backlighting, which creates a particularly mystical and otherworldly atmosphere. Added to this is a special highlight: a curtain behind the artists can be set in wave-like motion by an array of controllable fans. The movement interacts with the light – a particularly three-dimensional effect is created.

"Solus Amor" is also a wonderful example of the interplay of light and shadow, of focusing and fading. Sometimes acrobats seem to appear completely out of nowhere – and at other times a solo performance seems as if time stands still around them.
"The lighting design of Recirquel's Cirque Danse performances is characterized by extreme minimalism and grace, and we primarily use a wide palette of white tones," says Lenzsér, describing the style. And indeed, the light in "Solus Amor" entirely avoids any bright colors. However, the color temperature has a decisive effect: "We play with the different color temperatures of white, thus creating diverse visual moods on stage."
Technological progress also plays a role here. In its early days, LED technology was notorious for producing cold, sterile light. Those days are over; with modern LEDs, the temperature of the white tone can even be continuously adjusted – enabling particularly harmonious effects. Another innovation currently playing a role for Recirquel are movable light bars, which are used to create a very uniform backlight.

At Recirquel, lighting design is an integral part of the early creation phase of a new show, as Lenzsér explains to me: "With every new production, we first test different types of lighting on the individual elements of the set design to see how they interact and what effects they create together." This can begin years in advance, long before the rehearsal phase begins: "During the initial rehearsal phase, I develop my own lighting ideas in addition to the director's vision. In the last two to three weeks, we then rehearse with the complete lighting equipment, so that in the final preparation phase in the theater, we only have to make the final touches."
Like most Recirquel productions, "Solus Amor" tours permanent venues and is designed for the theater stage. It sometimes happens that the desired equipment simply doesn't fit in the venue. Then it's time to get creative again. "We strive to make adjustments so that the stage view matches the original as closely as possible," says Lenzsér.
There's no question that Recirquel is a prime example of how light can have a storytelling function in circus. In more traditional circus shows, however, the focus is usually on opulence and the "wow factor". The lighting is more colorful, with an aesthetic reminiscent of pop concerts. Some circuses, such as the Swiss National Circus Knie or the French Cirque Arlette Gruss, are pioneers in this area and don't have to shy away from comparisons with major pop culltural events.

The circus has a very long tradition of being at the forefront of innovations in lighting technology. In 1879, the year Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, Cooper and Bailey's Great London Circus was already the first circus to use electric light. A few years later, Bailey entered into a partnership with P.T. Barnum, which would lead to the famous "Greatest Show on Earth" – with electric light as the attraction in its early years. Many years have passed since then, but electric light in all its facets still fascinates circus audiences.
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