Artist from Portugal and performer, Rodrigo Malvar was in Novi Sad within the ‘Artists in Residence’ (Plant AiR) programme of the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation. He held numerous workshops with professional artists from the ‘Cirkoneo’ school of circus, which studies, presents and popularises circus skills.

He deals with the practice and research that are related to the creation and study of various types of sonic and physical encounters of the body and space. He explores the modulation of voice, sense of space, building and mapping of different ‘resonant architectures’ of the human body that interact with the sonic identity of the space, thus he will help famous circus performers from Novi Sad to create new, different, high-quality performance.

‘My goal is to exchange my knowledge and experience with them in order to make them work by themselves. This is a big challenge and it is very interesting how we were connected in the beginning, while in the end, I gradually distance from them. They will be able to use the tools I shared with them for further development of their skills’, said Malvar, whom we found in the Svilara Cultural Station during one of the workshops.

Mira Beba Dobrković, one of the professional circus artists stressed the importance of his stay in Novi Sad through the programme and added that in this manner circus artists can acquire knowledge.

‘There is no school or formal education here and people acquire knowledge, skills and techniques by themselves. Since we lack professors, i.e. people who could share their knowledge, Rodrigo’s help is very welcomed. The ‘Artists in Residence’ programme gives us the opportunity to meet foreign experts, who will help us to master new skills, deal with the research and introduce innovations in our performances’, stressed Dobrković.

The final result of the work of Rodrigo Malvar and Cirkoneo, the audience will have a chance to see in September, when it will have its premiere within the second Kaleidoscope of Culture.

The artistic residence was implemented by the ‘Novi Sad 2021’ Foundation in cooperation with the Embassy of Portugal in Serbia.