523 applications from 59 nations were received by the YOUNG STAGE organisers by February 2023. This is a new record! We are overwhelmed by the diversity that visitors to the 2023 edition of the festival can expect.
Anja Habegger (Switzerland)
Aerial Straps
Anja Habegger comes from Basel and therefore will perform in her home town at the YOUNG STAGE Festival 2023. She successfully completed her education in 2022 at the Ecole nationale de cirque in Montreal. Anja has been playing the harp and composing her own pieces since she was 7 years old. She always wanted to try out if she could combine her two passions, artistry and music. She also composed the music for her aerial straps act, entitled “Lunarpa aerial harp act”. In her act, everything must always be perfectly adjusted, so that she can perform not only acrobatically but also musically at the highest level.
Duo Mario & Mela
Adrien Borruat (Switzerland) & Larissa Wagenhals (Germany)
Physical Comedy
Larissa and Adrien studied at the Accademia Teatro Dimitri. The fact that Adrien is exactly one head taller than Larissa is something the two make use of for their act. They found it so funny that they put on a big coat together and created a whole act out of it. Of course, in addition to the fun, there is also hard work behind their performance. Coordinating four hands, two heads and four legs inside a coat to create the right punchlines at the right time is not that easy.
Shena Tschofen (USA & Austria)
Cyr Wheel
Shena first heard about YOUNG STAGE when she was still a teenager. She wants to share her ideas with her performances, take the audience into another world and show different perspectives. Her act “Lilac Wine” is named after the song of the same name by James Shelton, sung by Nina Simone. Shena particularly likes this song because the music allows her to break out of the usual Cyr Wheel structure.
Hng Thean Leong (Malaysia)
Diabolo
Putting together a Diabolo Act is not that easy. New moves have to be trained until they come along in a routine flow. This process involves many setbacks. But these setbacks are worth it, because they lead to an innovative and extremely high quality diabolo act. Before the performance, Hng Thean Leong needs a short moment of rest. After that, he ignites a special class diabolo show!
Half in Company
Morgane Stäheli & Sébastien Klink (Switzerland)
Duo Trapeze
Being on stage means pure freedom for Morgane & Sébastien. Their act “Pausa” is about this freedom to let go and to connect as a duo with each other and above all with the audience. The two have been on their way since they met as 7-year-olds in the Youth Circus. In 2022 they graduated together from the School of Dance and Circus in Stockholm.
Artur Dudov & Esmira Kulieva (Ukraine)
Aerial Straps Du0
Artur and Esmira, who graduated from the Kyiv Academy of Circus and Variety Arts, tell a love story between a woman and a man with their performance. Their own love story was not always harmonious and sometimes marked by setbacks. Their careers and also their act show the same characteristics. But in the end, love wins. This spark of love is sure to jump over to the audience.
Ada Forsberg, Anselmi Kaisanlahti, Armas Lintusaari (Finland)
Hand to Hand
Ada and Anselmi tell a special story with their hand-to-hand act. More precisely, they convey a Finnish tradition, namely “lavatanssit” which means “pavilion dance”. Their performance is about two people who feel strongly attracted but are too shy to show their affection. Their act titled “hopeinen kuu” is musically accompanied by the song of the same name. This song is a Finnish version of the Italian song “Guarda che luna” and will be performed live by their friend Armas.
Yaoyao Guo (China)
Handstand
Yaoyao’s greatest joy is her audience, the applause and the feelings of happiness that come with it. She is only the second artist in the history of YOUNG STAGE who comes from China. Yaoyao has spent two years developing her handstand act. The performance is about the Chinese fable “Nezha”. A symbol of sinereity and inergrity. In order to do justice to this symbol, she first had to analyze the character and spirit so that her movements bring the fable to life on stage.
Hoops Désolé
Jacob Gregoire, Augustin Thériault (Canada), Teddy Nardin (Switzerland), Santiago Esviza (Argentina)
Hoop Diving
Since their school days, the four boys have dreamed of taking part in the YOUNG STAGE Festival. The group found the development of their act easy: they fool around, throwing around bizarre and often absurd ideas until one of them stands out. The group met at the Circus School in Québec. Each of them specialises in a different discipline. As a group, however, the discipline Hoop Diving works best for them. Thanks to their additional skills, they interpret Hoop Diving in a completely new way.
Niklas Bothe (Germany)
Hula Hoop
With his performance “Pure Honey” Niklas, who graduated from the Berlin School of Artistry in 2018, wants to make the audience laugh and sweeten their everyday life a little. Technique and strength are uniquely combined with fun and charm by Niklas. When he was 18 years old, Niklas had to reduce his former discipline, aerial acrobatics, due to his health. Niklas found new strength and inspiration through “Hula-Hoop” and relaunched his career with this discipline after this setback.
Gamo Brothers
Abreham Nibret Alamirew & Yabtsega Tadegegn Abreham (Ethiopia)
Icarian Games
The Gamo brothers are looking forward to representing their country Ethiopia at YOUNG STAGE. This fills them both with great pride. The organisers are also proud that artists from Africa are taking part in the festival for the first time. The duo trains 6 days a week to perfect their energetic and fast-paced “Icarian Games” act. Their faith gives them extra strength – before each performance the brothers pray together. Their dream is to one day perform in front of millions of people around the world.
Alonso Gonzalez Barria (Chile)
Juggling
Alonso from Chile completed his training at the ESAC in Brussels. He has been fascinated by juggling since he was 13. He and his friends had a lot of fun doing it, although Alonso was unsure where his path with juggling would lead him. His friends all dreamed of studying circus professionally and Alonso realised that their dream was also his dream. For this dream, he left his family and emigrated to Europe for training. Alonso says that he is already living his dream by completing his study and being able to entertain people as a performer on stage or in the ring.
Nathan Schneider, Gilles Thuégaz, Solène Haefeli (Switzerland)
Teeterboard
Solène, Nathan and Gilles want to tell a story and spread a message that is important to them. Their Treeterboard performance deals with the relationship of the people in a trio. Is one excluded? How does a symbiosis between three succeed? Can a woman hold her own against two men? The trio tries to answer these questions playfully, with a little bickering and a whole lot of fun.
