From February 19th to 25th, Unicamp will host the Circus Research Summer Week, an immersive international seminar that will spread the art of circus across the Barão Geraldo campus. “It will be a full week of activities, and we will be circulating quite a bit. Although it is a closed event, we want to have some moments of interaction with the public, so that people know what is happening,” explains Marco Antonio Coelho Bortoleto, professor at the Faculty of Physical Education (FEF) and coordinator of the Circus Research Group (Circus) at Unicamp, an important reference in the field.
According to Bortoleto, the proposal for the meeting arose from a seminar promoted by Circus in December 2024. “Most congresses are held in just a few days and with very full agendas. The idea was to create a different, more intense meeting, with a smaller group of researchers gathered for a longer period to discuss topics in depth,” he explains.
The event's central focus is the creation of a letter of recommendations, which will be collectively drafted on the final day and made public. The document will gather guidelines and suggestions for advancing research and policies related to the circus, both in Brazil and internationally. To this end, four major themes will guide the discussions: circus schools and training processes; the role of festivals and cultural events; circus dramaturgy; and social circus, an area that uses the circus as a tool for social transformation and in which Brazil has international prominence.
According to Bortoleto, the expectation is that the document will resonate within networks, institutions, and organizations represented by the participants. “Many of them act as representatives of associations, networks, and training centers in their countries. The idea is that this material will circulate and help guide future actions,” he states.
With over 20 years of experience, Circus has an extensive academic output, including books, articles, and supervision of master's and doctoral theses, and is involved in the formulation of public policies, institutional consulting, and interdisciplinary actions that connect art, education, health, and social assistance.
According to the coordinator, the growing interest in the subject is evident. “There have never been as many schools, artists, and researchers as there are today. In an increasingly technological world, the circus stands out for reconnecting people with their bodies, with direct experience, and for engaging with different areas of knowledge. We think of the circus as art, but also as a field that engages with education, social transformation, and health,” he emphasizes.
“Our work is multidisciplinary, and we strive for it to be transdisciplinary. Throughout the week, we will have lectures with professionals from various fields, such as a neuroscientist who will talk about the contribution of the circus to human development, as well as representatives from international circus training networks. We have people from the arts, education, physical education, social work, and health,” she says. “Circus research today has many facets. It's a very promising scenario,” she adds.
The event, organized by FEF, the Institute of Arts (IA), and the Pro-Rectorate for Extension, Sports, and Culture (Proeec), selected 15 participants. “We opened a public call for applications, especially since the funding is public. The call was published in Portuguese, Spanish, English, and French. We distributed it to mailing lists and venues we knew, and to our surprise, we received 50 applications,” Bortoleto continues.
The organizers divided the participants into three groups. “The first group consists of researchers from Europe and North America, such as Spain, Canada, and the United States. We selected five researchers from Latin America, and we will have five Brazilians from different regions.”
On the penultimate day of the seminar, February 24th, there will be a lunchtime performance in front of the University Restaurant. “We invited two artists to perform this presentation. In addition, on two other days of the week we will be attending events in Mogi Mirim and São Paulo. In the capital, we will go to the Circus Memory Center, one of the best collections of circus artifacts we have, for a lecture open to the public,” he adds.
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