BELOW ZERO

During the summer of 2018 four circus artists set sail in the Swedish archipelago. When they came back to shore, the dream of Below Zero had come to life.

Below Zero is a Swedish circus company that is doing modern and innovative circus arts performances. The company’s first piece PACE got high praise after it’s premiere in 2019 and since the company is going further, growing bigger with their second piece; KORUS which premiered in spring of 2022.

The cold weather of Sweden shapes the company’s artistic expression as creating warmth and human contact in many ways characterises Below Zero.

The company’s name is inspired by the circus artists ability to look weightless in their actions, flying almost like falling snowflakes, time can seem to be frozen and weight non-existing.

Below Zero consists of four individuals with a similar past but entirely different careers.

Even though Below Zero is based in Stockholm, they work globally.

Visit their website here

PACE

PACE is the first production from Below Zero a Scandinavian made circus company. The show is an intimate duett with the hand to hand couple Axel and Sara. It touches on the idea of relationships – power imbalances, trust and consent.

To see PACE is to see our human heritage. It’s a story of two people as well as a story about society, of equality, where society is going and where we wish society as a whole can go.

With music ranging over different genres the soundscape is unpredictable which makes the performance even more alive as electric beats mixes with Scandinavian folk music.

With a simple yet impressive scenography PACE makes the stage come alive. From small intimate spaces to huge rooms with walls staring down at the artists, the scenography changes in a organic way together with the performance. The gentle light that the fatigued fabric imposes on the space creates a bridge between the industrial doorframe of solid steel and the human fragility of the artists bodies.

It’s a personal piece where the artists gives a honest performance filled with warmth, humour, emotion, original movement and the highest level of modern circus.

Credits
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Performers (concept and interpretation) Axel Ahl (SE) and Sara Runsten (SE/ESP)
SCENOGRAPHY & LIGHT DESIGN Joel Jedström (SE) Saara Ahola (FIN) Evelina Jensen (SE) Villhelm Montán Lindberg (SE)
SUPPORT The University of Dance and Circus (SE) Benjamin Richter (DE) With support from The City of Stockholm (SE) VIDEO AND PHOTO Isak Stockås (SE)
SPECIAL THANKS Saska Särkilahti (FIN/SE) for saving the soundscape. Fanny Senocq (SE) for making and lending out the fantastic fabrics. Pau Portabella (ESP) for giving us confidence and a creative method. Christina Simpson (SE) for sharing her great knowledge. Johan Kivi (SE) for designing the logo for Below Zero. We love it.
MUSICAL CREDITS AUKAI HOME ELENA FRAGMENTARY BLUE DREAMER’S CIRCUS MORMOR SOFFASTYKKET (feat. Folkeklubben)
THE BOOKS BIOSPHERIC DOUBLETIME CIRCLE OF FIFTHS LOOP BIOSPHERIC QUIET BIOSPHERIC DARK

KORUS

KORUS is a visually big, choreographic and acrobatic circus show.
Four artists on stage perform tight wire, hand to hand, teeterboard, and acrobatics.

In KORUS you meet four artists who are coming together on stage, unaware of what is happening in the outside world, unaware of the chaos that is closing in. We are inviting you to a universe where we communicate through balance, strength, movement and acrobatics, but when the outside no longer can be ignored, what happens then?

The show is a reflection of the current world and how we, as humans, are handling the catastrophes we bring upon ourselves.
Throughout the performance the two different acts contrast each other, light and darkness, harmony and chaos, success and failure, the total cooperation or the absolute conflict.

Credits
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PERFORMERS (concept and interpretation) Klara Sköldulf Philipp (SE) Sara Runsten (SE/ESP) Lukas Ivanow (SE) Axel Ahl (SE) COMPOSER Mischa Grind
LIGHT DESIGN Villhelm Montán Lindberg (SE)
OUTSIDE EYE Pau Portabella (ES)
SUPPORT CircusNext +, Ytterjärna Kulturhus, Cirkus Cirkör, Subtopia, Dynamo, Cirqueon, Swedish Art Council, Region of Stockholm, City of Stockholm, Noura Nord Incubator, Futurum, La Grainerie