The Circusnext Lab is a collective research period in which artists preselected in the Circusnext programme are brought together to explore each other’s projects, work on the writing of their pieces, share extracts and receive feedback on their process. The primary aim of these Labs is to collaboratively refine each other’s projects, with a focus on circus writing and dramaturgy. It is also a valuable opportunity for the creators to network with other artists and professionals, as each session is hosted by a circusnext platform member.
In January 2026 DYNAMO has the pleasure to host a Lab for 10 days, dedicated to 4 projects, under the mentorship of Fatou Traoré. During the lab, the artists presented short parts of their projects to the group, and also in an internal collective presentation, at the end of the period. Here are the projects that participated in the 2026 Lab at DYNAMO:
THE CURSE OF EMPATHY by Opus Company
A familiar smile touches my sons lips. Its my smile. Grey hair runs through my fingers as I stare at a reflection of my father in the mirror. “You have your mothers eyes” he says. I smile politely. ‘These are not her eyes’ I think, but they are not mine either. These eyes are older than all of us care to remember. What else of me has belonged to another? My laugh, my hope, my sadness? Can we choose what we pass along? Like a house with a well tended garden, hard fought from the chaos of the wild earth. Weeds carefully plucked and seeds purposefully sown. But. No matter how beautiful my garden is, I can never claim the earth. It was passed down from a time before time. My earth is your earth, and will one day be his earth. All I can do is tend the garden. More about the company.
AMOW by Cie Suspendu
The performance follows a passive inhabitant trapped in his own illusions. AMOW, a mythical force, distorts his comfort into a nightmare, pulling him between waking and dreaming. Black wires, light bulbs, and suspended furniture without walls expose the home’s intestines. The scenography becomes a possessed mechanism. Through aerial straps and hair suspension, the artist’s body becomes the threshold between structure and void, interwinding between circus, contemporary puppetry, and rigging design. More about the project.
BLOOD FLOW READING CLUB by Carlos Landaeta Meneses
Books are scattered around a person with numb limbs, all available to be read. Confronted with this injured body, the audience is invited to interact with these committed texts: step onto the stage, pick up a book, read it aloud. A body will be there to hold the microphone — just for you. Blood Flow Reading Club offers this unique experience, letting the voices of those who have written in support of marginalised communities be carried through you. By probing the limits of the body, the performance encourages spectators to confront acts of violence and the voices that have been silenced. Here, it is the subaltern who will be heard.
HOLDING ON TO EVERYTHING I’VE GOT by Verena Schneider
Holding on to everything I’ve got unfolds as a contemporary circus piece about our connection to the earth. It intertwines real and imagined parallels—between her body, the objects she moves with, and the cultural, earthly, and familial heritage that shapes her. The aim is to create a circus that is both intimate and political—a way of sensing how we destroy not only the landscapes around us, but also the landscapes within us. By questioning her own biography, Verena explores the familial presences that shape her and reveal the complexity of earthly inheritance. As performer, accompanied by a musician, she confronts her body to embody these ruptures and their ecological consequences.A circus emerges that turns away from fantasies of control — towards a practice rooted in relationships, mutual dependence, and the question of agency. More about the project.
Circusnext is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, with support from Institut Français (French Institute), ville de Paris (city of Paris).
