In front of the Capital Circus of Budapest, an old steam locomotive stands guard, welcoming the audience. At first, one may wonder what a train has to do with circus. The image soon reveals its meaning: the locomotive reappears in the opening of the show as a tunnel through which performers from all over the world enter the ring. Peter Fekete, director of the Capital Circus, frames Budapest as the “locomotive of the circus world” in this year’s edition of the Budapest International Circus Festival.
Staying within this metaphor, the locomotive pulls an impressive number and variety of wagons. No other classical circus festival presents four entirely different shows. In addition to the two competition programs (Red and Green Shows), audiences can attend a showcase of Hungarian circus (the Red–White–Green Show) and a “lyrical circus late-night show” (the White Show), which cautiously introduces contemporary aesthetics into the festival format.
Tradition as the Festival’s Backbone
Overall, the festival celebrates circus tradition in many forms, including animal acts. This year, Giulia Giona’s beautiful liberty horses – presented entirely without bridle – and Thomas Lacey’s lively dog act were both awarded a Silver Pierrot. Beyond their technical quality, these acts represent an increasingly rare profession and the legacy of long-standing circus dynasties. The Donnert family’s folkloristic horse-riding act, featured in the Hungarian show, also deserves mention in this context.
Tradition takes a different form in the contortion and glass-balancing act of two young sisters from the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe. Even more striking, however, was their companion act: eleven male performers presenting hoop diving as a contemporary group choreography. Dressed in white suits, they filled the ring with fluid, restless movement and a constantly evolving ways to pass rings of different sizes. The act culminated in a spectacular jump through a 3.10-meter-high ring, earning them the festival’s highest award.
The second-highest distinction – the two Golden Pierrots – went to established spectacular acts: the Martinez Brothers for their stunning Icarian games and the Flying Tabares for their famous double flying trapeze. Another well-known troupe, Venice Carnival, previously successful in Girona, won a Silver Pierrot for their both color- and skilful combination of Icarian games and trampoline.
From here on, this article focuses less on established names and more on surprises, innovation, and emerging trends.
Props, Images, and Innovation
An interesting coincidence was the appearance of two acts built around the image of a lamp. Polish aerialist Pawel Walczewski performs on an aerial rope with a lamp attached beneath him, creating striking lighting effects that shift with his movement. The trick repertoire is ot as strong as the visual idea, though – aside from an impressive fast-spinning sequence at the end.
The Canadian Duo Épicentre uses a lamp very differently, placing it atop an oscillating pole. The pole appears to lose its weight, gently floating with the artists. This illusion is achieved through a counterweighted base plate that allows the pole to tilt and explore dynamic balance. The duo applies a high-level Chinese pole repertoire to this innovative apparatus, creating a performance of remarkable lightness and control.
Another highlight was Duo Matéo and Aélia, who presented a pas de deux for two bodies and a single diabolo. Matéo Turbelin and Aélia Savary communicate through the dual languages of diabolo juggling and contemporary dance. Having previously performed a more theatrical version of their work at Cirque de Demain and Young Stage, they opted here for radical reduction. This simplicity revealed the act’s true beauty and was rewarded with a Silver Pierrot in the Lyrical Show.
The two handstand acts of the festival are examples of classic vs. innovative style. Italian Gabriel Dell’Acqua acts as the strong man inspired from ancient imagery with a strong yet conventional trick sequence, whereas Maria Sarach from Russia expands the possibilities of handstand acts on her visually appealing spiral apparatus. Both are on a technically high level justifying the Bronze award.
Aerial Duos: Mastery and Repetition
As in many contemporary festivals, aerial solo and duo acts were abundant – perhaps too abundant. Still, this allowed for direct comparison within similar genres.
The Swiss duo Aerial Adagio, Janine and Fabien, bring strong dance backgrounds to their aerial hammock act. While the idea of telling a love story in the air is far from new, their refined movement quality and advanced technique make it convincing and emotionally engaging.
Another aerial hammock duo appeared in the Hungarian show: Chepkyi Mykhailo and Lytvynova Yaroslava, young Ukrainian artists from the Old Circus of Kyiv. Their school, led by Svitlana Momot, relocated to Budapest in 2022 due to the war. The duo’s act stood out for its smooth blend of technical interest, risk, and fragile aesthetics. Chepkyi also performed a solo aerial straps act in the Lyrical Show, focused purely on strength and technique. The clarity and intensity of his performance earned him a gold medal.
Duo Satellite, featuring Ukrainians Angelina Prokhorova and Roman Kronzhko, received a Bronze Pierrot for their aerial straps duet. While technically impressive, the strong-man/beautiful-woman aesthetic felt overly familiar. Similarly, the Hungarian Duo Kirko—Zoé Krivanek and Bence Kollár – won Silver in the Hungarian show for another aerial straps love story. Without diminishing the quality of these acts, the repetition of themes and dramaturgies points to a broader issue: while risk levels continue to rise, many aerial duos tend to lack genuinely new artistic ideas.
Aerial Pole: A Trend Discipline Reimagined
Aerial pole, another omnipresent discipline, proved capable of diverse interpretations. Israeli artist Alisa Shehter, a former Gold Pierrot winner in Budapest, returned with her partner Dan as Duo Aerial DNA. Their act earned a Silver Pierrot in the main competition, featuring spectacular moments such as Alisa lying flat on her partner’s neck, hands free, floating in midair. While being powerful and energetic, the storytelling part remains somewhat inconsistent.
Kimberly Zavatta uses the aerial pole as a target in a crossbow act with her partner Nicol Nicols. The constant exchange of active and passive roles adds dynamism to the performance. Both artists represent European circus families with roots in the 19th century.
In the Hungarian show, “The Annas” – Panna Kocsaslijszki and Anna Stepanian – demonstrated how combining techniques can transform a trend discipline into something special. Graduates of the Baross Imre Academy, they merge aerial pole and hair hanging, concealing extreme risk within precise, fluid movement – gold was well deserved.
Ukrainian soloist Katerina Kornieva presented what might be called the gold standard of aerial pole acts – and golden is also the Pierrot that she is awarded with. When her movement on the rotating pole on the ground transforms into a rise up into the air within one constant flow of movement, culminating in spins right under the top of the circus building, it evokes this intense feeling of aliveness. The moment when she hangs with her knees in a small ring attached to the pole, carefully slips into hanging only on her heel, just to let go one of the legs as if it was not daring enough already – breathtaking.
A pole is also used by Laurine Dumora and Dimitri Terribilini – but a static Chinese pole. The graduates from the Quebec circus school are together the “Duo Up’n Down” and were awarded with a Bronze pierrot. The magic of this act lies not only in the seemingly effortless technique but also in an unusual yet charming mixture of precision and weirdness.
Group Acts from Asia and from Hungary
Coming back to an increasingly rare form in circus – group acts. China was represented by a second one – the Xishui County Acrobatic Troupe. Their antipod act with footballs features six girls which might be an interesting group size for bookers. With lots of helping hands from assistants needed, however, it lacks a harmonious aesthetic.
While most group disciplines are dominated by Asian troupes, the Korean board has become a rather European genre with interesting examples already at other festivals. The young artists Lorin Szakács, Kiri Grámán-Ács, Luca Fehér and Kitti Gulyás – together the “High Flyers” presented a Hungarian variant. This teeterboard technique where precise timing is required to catapult each other higher and higher is rarely presented by women. This act has a lot of potential but still needs refinement and less interventions of coach Roland Dittmár that affect the picture. Still, it is good to see that another promising European group act is emerging.
Another ring-filling act from Hungary and Bronze award winner is the illusionist Christofer Eötvös and his “magic team” of dancers. The seamless choreography gives this act an interesting dynamic compared to other illusionist acts.
Clowning and Conclusions
In terms of clowning, the festival left me with mixed feelings. Anatoli Akermann proved a reliable crowd-pleaser, benefiting from his collaboration with Christoph Schiele (his partner also in their duo show KuKu), who gives him the space to fully unfold his playful absurdity. Neither the Hungarian Clown trio Triple Trouble nor the Russian duo Gruppa Zakhvata add a comparable portion of originality and refinement to the festival.
Given the sheer number of artists involved across four programs, this article can only highlight a selection. The Budapest International Circus Festival was rich, ambitious, and stimulating. One critical observation remains: many of the strongest acts were already well known, while the most innovative ideas could have been executed more convincingly. Nevertheless, the circus locomotive in Budapest is undeniably running at full steam.
Complete list of the award winners:
Main Price: China National Acrobatic Troupe (Hoop Diving, China)
Hungarian show:
- Gold: The Annas (Aerial Pole, Hungary)
- Silver: Duo Kriko (Aeria Pole, Hungary)
- Bronze: Christofer Eötvös (Illusionist, Hungary)
Lyrical Circus Late-Night Show
- Gold: Chepkyi Mykhailo (Aerial Straps, Ukraine)
- Silver: Mateo and Aelia (Diabolo, France)
- Bronze: Duo Satellite (Aerial Straps, Ukraine)
Main Competition:
- Gold: Martinez Brothers (Ikarians, Columbia/Japan), Kateryna Kornieva (Aeria Pole, Ukraine), Flying Tabares (Flying Trapeze, Argentina/USA)
- Silver: Giulia Giona (Liberty Horses, Italy), Venice Carnival (Trampoline / Russia), Duo Aerial DNA (Aerial Pole, Israel), Thomas Lacey (Dogs / United Kingdom)
- Bronze: Gabriel Dell’Acqua (Handstand, Italy), Épicentre (Oscillating Pole, Canada), Duo Up’n’Down (Chinese Pole, France/Switzerland), Maria Sarach (Handstand, Russia)
Main Image: Christofer Eötvös Illusionist | Photographer: Adam Urban
Budapest International Circus Festival Budapest International Circus Festival Budapest International Circus Festival
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This post was last modified on January 23, 2026 7:55 pm