First of all, my research is not only my research but our research. It has been made together with my long-time art companion Marjut Hernesniemi. The starting point for our research was our experience of the western modern circus, what it does, and how it cares for the cosmos. From our experience, the western modern circus is based on techniques, risk, danger, and spectacle. Human is in the center of it, often presented as superhuman controlling and manipulating everything. By looking at the current situation in the world, human domination has caused us problems in a form of climate change and other ecological crises such as mass extinction. However, there are different ways of relating to the world. In this research we have looked beyond the western modern circus, to the roots of circus in China and Japan, and to the archaic rituals, to find other ways of relating to the world through circus and trying to bring them to the present day. This research was set out with the question of trying to combine circus and other aspects of life as one sustainable or regenerative practice. The theoretical framework of the research has been ritual. The thought behind that has been the efficacy of the ritual in contrast to entertainment. That is circus can make a difference. From an animistic perspective, the purpose of the ritual is to sustain and renew, preserve or bring back the balance between the psyche, body, social, cosmic, and circle of life. With this in mind, we have made use of the anti-structure of liminality as a playground while working in the studio. In this playground, we have not been bound by the custom, convention, or ceremonials of the western modern circus. Instead, we’ve had the possibility to play. Use the definition of western modern circus as a launching pad and try to run as far as possible, but still have the connection point as the one that we left from. The rules of the play were simple, such as we don’t climb the rope, you are not allowed to hurt the rope, instead of objects, materials of becoming, instead of human exceptionalism, appreciation of the other, what if there was no human on stage. All these rules created different possibilities. 

While in liminality we have been bound by another thing that can appear in a liminal phase, communitas. Communitas as an unstructured communion of equal individuals working towards a collective task with full attention. In our communitas, the task has been a sustainable circus. Moreover, in our communitas, ropes and nature were included as equals. Together we have been imagining and making different kinds of possible futures. These relations between us, nature, and the ropes have been intimate relations. During the process of making, humans have been ”affected” as much as the significant other. 

Our task was to combine circus and other aspects of life as one sustainable or regenerative practice. As performances in circus consist of ritualized gestures that show the relationship between us and the cosmos, we need to rethink what we are presenting. To find a more sustainable and regenerative future, we need collective survival skills instead of individual ones. These survival skills should include all life in its diversity. For change to happen liminality, communitas and play are all needed. Liminality to open up a playground outside of the structured society. Play to come up with solutions to challenges. Communitas to form a special bond between the players, speak for the weak, and not forget that we work for the same cause. 

Circus can transform, however it requires that the artists are willing to go through the liminal space themselves and take circus with them.