Contemporary circus

[9] The genre of contemporary circus is largely considered to have begun in 1995 with 'Le Cri du Caméléon', an ensemble performance from the graduating class of the French circus school Le Centre Nationale des Artes du Cirque [fr] (CNAC), directed by Joseph Nadj.

This includes a strong trend for developing new apparatus and movement languages based on the capacities, experience and interests of individual performers, rather than finding new ways to present traditional repertoire.

Music is often composed exclusively for the production, and aesthetic influences are drawn as much from contemporary culture as from circus tradition.

Theatrical scenes or clown gags may provide seamless segues between acts instead of using the traditional role of the ringmaster.

It should be remembered though, that creating dichotomies is reductive, and there are many instances of circus productions that do not easily fit such neat categorisation.