BNCN Members meeting of Spring 2026 - a retrospect

Last week of March 2026, BNCN members were hosted for their biannual meeting in Estonia. The hosts this time were two members of the network - Circus Folie, with support from Tallinn Fringe. This time, on top of visiting our members and learning more about their work and realities, we "escaped the city" to Koolimäe Creative House, which made our meeting more network-focused, giving space for deeper discussions about the needs of our members, the circus industry in our region and how we can assist them together.

Shortly about our hosts

Cirkus Folie is the oldest contemporary circus school in Baltics. Located in two spaces in Tallinn for 26 years and going, they work on developing not only technical skills, but also artistic thinking and expression through multiple circus disciplines. Some of their students have continued their path on a professional level in universities such as Codarts and AMK, and are part of developing the professional circus scene in Estonia. In our meeting, Terje Bernadt, the director of Folie, introduced us to the history of circus in Estonia, Folie's history, their methodology and values, as well as their concerns and their practical realities of hosting a circus school in their local sociopolitical context.

During the meeting, we could also meet the students! They shared with us some excerpts of their personal works-in-progress, as well as excerpts from shows such as “MõjusFäär”(Influence).

Tallinn Fringe is a multidisciplinary short-form performance event that happens from the 18th of August to the 18th of September annually. Circus, street performance, music, theatre, fire shows - you name it, and you might possibly see it during this event. This is the only fringe in our network at the moment, and during our meeting, Dan Renwick, the director of the festival, introduced this format more closely and invited our members for a discussion - what is/could be/can't be the role of fringes in our industry. On the last day of our meeting, we visited Heldeke! - a theatre bar in Tallinn, one of the venues of Tallinn Fringe, where we met with Estonian artists and their performances.

What did we focus on this time?

During this meeting, our focus was more on the topics of advocacy and pedagogy. During multiple work groups, we looked at the ways in which we can assist these directions with our network and discovered multiple interdisciplinary ideas. We are searching for new collaborations, paths and support within the Baltic-Nordic region.

The space allowed us to also focus on ourselves as colleagues. With walks to the seaside, catching the Spring sun, having talks on the way to the countryside and cooking together. Taking a bit more time and space for stillness and connection.

Here are some moments of our visit! Huge thanks to Cirkus Folie for hosting, and we will meet next in November!