First meeting of Nordic and Baltic Circus Alliances!

BNCN 2026 has begun with an inspiring event! From the 29th to the 30th of February 2026, hosted by our member organisation Cirko with the support of Circus Dance Finland in Helsinki, we had our first physical meeting of the project, Nordic and Baltic Circus Alliances. A beginning of a bigger endeavour - to build a strategy for the circus arts of the Nordic and Baltic region.

Nordic and Baltic Circus Alliances is a project which focuses on organisational development of the circus industry in this region. Sustainability and care are not only buzzwords in this project, but the central focus. The questions, such as - What are the realities in this industry? What are our dreams? What are our possible futures? Can we actively influence these flows on time? - are on the table this time.

In Module 1 - circus realities - we were introduced to the methodology of cartopology. Developed by the Cartopology Institute, this method blends cartography and anthropology, bringing our attention not only to the geographical positioning of "players" in the field, but also their impact, connections, disconnections and relations. After a lecture, we jumped into creating cartopological maps of our organisations and later of the countries we represented.

After the two days of practical discussions of the circus scene within our respective countries, we are on our way to create an overview map of the region, where each partner will create a more detailed perspective of their country. The scope this time is a draft for a deeper research continuing in the future.

What is this project? Find out more HERE

A notable event we had the chance to experience was the premiere of "Yes Person" by Based on Kimberly, which was the first production of the new co-production network W/. A beautiful moment of celebration and being together! Our next stop for this project - Sweden!