PACE / 8+

Rosa Brinks - Business Director of Programming at Maaspodium - played a key role in bringing Below Zero to the Netherlands with PACE. Here’s what Rosa has to say about her experience:

"I don’t often go to circus theater, but when I saw PACE at Bibu – the Performing Arts Biennial for Children and Youth in Helsingborg (Sweden), I knew immediately that this show needed to come to Maaspodium. Technically, the acrobatics are very strong, but what really moves me is the vulnerability of the piece on multiple levels:

• Personal: Axel & Sara expose themselves and their relationship on stage.
• Physical: The acrobats perform *without* a safety net, making their performance incredibly vulnerable.
• Emotional: Thematically, everyone can relate to the dynamics of relationships in all their forms.

The playfulness of PACE works well for children, while its universal message resonates with audiences of all ages. A must-see, in my opinion!"

During the summer of 2018, four circus artists set sail into the Swedish archipelago. When they returned to land, the dream of Below Zero had come to life.

Their dream was to create high-quality circus performances where they could explore circus as the primary language and allow rehearsals to take their time, with a strong focus on physical research and the development of new physical material, tailored to the performance.

The artistic processes are characterized by great care for the storytelling of the bodies, the circus arts, and the movements. How can one perform acrobatic tricks in a way that simultaneously tells a story?

Today, five years later, Below Zero is an established Swedish circus company, with three self-produced productions in its repertoire, touring all over Sweden and internationally.