CIRCUNSTRUCTION #14 / 12+

Circunstruction is the talent development programme of Circusstad Festival. Every year, a number of makers (3 projects) receive three weeks of residency, workshops, artistic support and try-outs, as part of a year of mentoring. This gives a huge boost in both their development as creators, and in the creation of their performance. Participants are selected on the basis of an open call. Circunstruction selects projects that cross borders, have expressive content and make audiences think. During the process, participants develop their own artistic language and a vision for the future.

Leire Froufe is a Spanish multidisciplinary circus artist, performer, and creator with a background in aerospace engineering. After completing her Master’s degree and working in the satellite industry, she transitioned into the performing arts through dance and pole dance, eventually discovering her passion for contemporary circus. She trained at SALTO Circus School (Portugal) and graduates from Fontys Academy of Circus and Performance Art (Netherlands) in 2025, specialising in Chinese Pole. Her artistic work is rooted in the belief that circus is a tool for social reflection and political engagement. She has performed in both contemporary and traditional circus across Europe, and recently worked as Assistant Director for MYSTICA by Moved by Matter. She has also experience in social circus projects in Palestine, Lebanon, and the UK.

Cristian Boscheri is an Italian interdisciplinary maker, dancer, and comedian based in Rotterdam. He previously worked as an engineer at TU Eindhoven and co-founded Stichting Wedowe before fully committing to the arts in 2024. His artistic journey began in Italy with breaking in 2005, winning his first national championship in 2009. In 2023, he won Open Your Mind, an international competition for experimental dance. Since 2022, he has also been active as a stand-up comedian and was a finalist in the 2025 Comedy Talent Award at Tivoli Vredenburg. His solo work blends dance, mime, clowning, and humor, with space for vulnerability and playfulness. Cristian Boscheri 's artistic research explores how perception is shaped by emotional and psychological states, and how shifts in those states affect how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world. He is fascinated by comedy as a language, whether purely physical, purely verbal, or a mix of both, and how it interacts with movement, dance, and audience participation. His recent work includes The Odd Ones by Simon Granit Ossoinak (Circusstad, Circusbende, MAD Festival, VITRINE PERPLX), Stream of Unconsciousness (Urban Dans Dagen) and Disease to Please (TENT Back to Base, Headless Cabaret).

Samuel Rhyner is a Swiss circus artist, graduated from the Academy for Circus and Performance Art in Tilburg (NL) in 2020. Interested in movement in general, but thirsty for knowledge, he decided to learn Piano, trumpet, electronic music composition and Cyr Wheel besides his main disciplines : Acrodance and acrodance partnering. Having worked and working in different projects as co-creator, performer, composer, acrobat, acrodancer or interpreter, such as Exit (2022-now, acrodance, directed by Piet van Dycke), On point, (2019-2023, partnering duet), Hug (2020-2022, partnering and music, duet with Saphia Loizeau), Entre deux mondes (acrodance and trampoline), he then embarked on a solo path with La vieille souche (2023-now, acrodance and partnering with a tree). The idle hour will be the first piece of Motus murmuri, directed by Samuel Rhyner, in collaboration with William Blenkin.