"When
land-bound animals begin to fly
Reaching for the unknown
An unexpected transformation
Rooted but free
The same animal but different
Man's quest for flight continues
Circus
The antithesis of museum
Raw, exciting, dizzying, robust
Dangerous magic
The sacred and the profane co-exist
Theatre of the people
Hanuman, monkey, leaps into flight."
Established in 1994 by Ong Keng Sen, Artistic Director of TheatreWorks Singapore,
The Flying Circus Project (FCP) is a major programme exploring Asian expression
in the 21st Century. This multi-disciplinary, long-termed research and development
programme in theatre, dance, music, visual arts, film and ritual has continued
for six years, with laboratories consisting of classes, improvisation workshops
and seminars. This laboratory, the first with such extensive scope and continuity
in Asia, looks at the different creative strategies of individual artists,
both traditional and contemporary, through the recognition of differences
between the many Asian cultures. The focal point is on cultural negotiation
and process in the arts practice. Aided by this clash of time/space through
the dynamic interaction between the performers and their clash of disciplines,
the development of artists in external form, internal landscape, intellectual
muscularity and politicisation become major pillars of the FCP. That was
Phase One.
There are plans for a second phase which will involve the establishment of artistic links with Central and Western Asia.
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