Digital circus

Technologies in performances

The inspiration behind the first European Juggling Convention (EJC) was the IJA Festival, which was organised by jugglers who despised traveling to the USA. A helping hand was lent by the IJA to the organisers in the form of a roster (a list) of Europe-based IJA members. The first EJC was also called the “first European IJA mini-convention,” which was attended by 11 jugglers who came from 5 different countries.

Over time, the EJC has grown much bigger and today, it’s the world’s largest juggling convention that attracts thousands of participants from various corners of the world. The focus on EJC is much less on competitive juggling. Rather, it emphasizes the concept of sharing of juggling. Every year, the EJC is held in a different European country, and the region’s local organisation committees manage it with support from the EJA.

Similar to a majority of juggling conventions, the EJC features a blend of workshops for jugglers along with games, a “renegade” performance put up for the Convention’s participants, and a public show, which are typically spread out over a week in the European summer. Participants attending this Convention usually stay in the tents.

Technology and juggling

In 2014, an online piece of news made big news as it talked about “digital Juggling” or lumospheres, which was the first projector-camera arrangement to track balls and project images onto them in real time. Those who were eyeing to master the hand-eye coordination essential for juggling expressed a lot of interest in the technology as it showed awesome results. Gizmodo even hypothesised that in the future, digital juggling or what it called “digi-juggling” had the potential of being used at professional sporting events.

Digital technologies used in modern circuses

3D holographic images

In June 2019, a German circus named the Roncalli circus that started its journey in 1976 brought in 3D holographic images to replace different animals that it used earlier. Images used were of moving horses, elephants, and even fishes. The aim was to make the traditional circus experience evolve into something that was innovative and creative. To make this work, the circus uses projectors to generate holographic images that have the capability of filling a circus ground measuring 32 meters in width (105 feet) and 5 meters in depth (16 feet), while making sure the entire audience gets to enjoy a 360-degree visibility.

To achieve the effects it desired, Roncalli collaborated with A/V specialists optoma and the team set up a total of 11 ZU850 laser projectors to produce the immersive holographic experience. 11 BX-CTA03 long throw lenses were employed to complete the installation that facilitated the projectors to be placed further away from the stage for crucial flexibility.

Thanks to this 3D holographic image technology, thousands of visitors can now look forward to an interesting twist to their circus experience. Be it all-encompassing projections of big elephants executing headstands or horses galloping around the circus arena, the digital technology would help the circus stay relevant when many of its peers are losing business for a wide range of reasons – a significant one being the possibility for animal cruelty.

Tech-driven circus

Ringling Bros. was once a traditional circus. A few years back, it reinvented the entire concept of its show to make it digitally-driven. As a result, the Ringling show transformed into a three-ring circus of hard drives, semiconductors, custom electronic engineering, and digital links. Some may think that this changed the basic nature of the circus but what happened in reality was that the envelope of the circus got transformed though the core concept of the circus remained unchanged.

Just like high-tech Broadway performances or arena rock shows, the transformed circus required stealth enhancement and style that appeared to be invisible. Though what they used to do was transformed by the microchip, the circus needed to be subtle about the digital technologies it used because that wasn’t what the show was about. Rather, the focus of the show was on the people and the animals, and that what the circus continued to emphasize upon. After all, the circus didn’t want people to appreciate the lights or technology. Instead, it wanted them to talk about the entire enhanced and immersive experience that made their trip to the circus worthwhile.

3D printing

Some circuses use 3D printing props and costume pieces in their shows. There are different types of materials that you can use in the printing procedure. For instance, materials that are flexible and soft can be used to form a duplicate of another piece that would usually not be flexible (consider, for example, a costume accessory, which can be created in such a way that it bends with a performer).

Final words

Apart from the above, several other digital technologies are used by circuses to improve their performances and make them more secure. Some of these include projection mapping, live video feeds, color-changing props, costumes, and make-up, holograms, drones, robots, etc.