Collaboration
FOCA x Phare —— Taiwan-Cambodia Exchange Program for Professional Circus Performers
2022
2022.10 - 2022.11
This bilateral exchange and training program aims at long-term dialogue and collaboration. This year, performers of Phare, The Cambodian Circus have been invited to work, share, and learn together with Formosa Circus Art (FOCA) performers, with the goal of jointly developing a unique Asian circus body language.
The program aims to facilitate exchanges between professional circus performers, designed in four main directions: workshops, visits, daily observations, and public performances. During their visit to Taiwan, Phare performers got to know more about FOCA and the training of Taiwanese performers through real-life and on-site training. In exchange, Phare performers also guided FOCA to systematically improve their skills such as springboard and banquine jumping. This exchange promoted the enrichment of the daily training of Phare performers and enhanced the diversity of FOCA's creative techniques, assisting the development of both teams’ repertoire. Not only did the two countries improve their understanding of each other’s body techniques and basic training of performers, but they also look forward to the follow-up exchanges. Through such program under Asian Circus Network platform, they aim to promote circus performance with their works, as well as to facilitate in-depth cross-cultural and cross-regional exchanges, so that they can jointly build a more open and diversified Asian circus language and ecosystem.
【Formosa Circus Art】
Convener ｜Lin Chih-Wei
PM｜Lin Yuan-Min
Artistic Director｜Lee Tsung-Hsuan、Chen Kuan-Ting
Assistant｜Chiu Chun-Hsiang
Artist｜Lee Kun-Jung、Chiang Yu-Ping、Chao Wei-Chen、Lo Yuan-Yang、Lin Sheng-Wei、Ruan Yu-Ting、Chen Cyun-Fu、Huang Kuan-Jung
Administrator ｜Chen Ting-Yu、Ho Chih-Lin、Kuo Ching-Te
【Phare the Cambodian Circus】
Convener ｜Dara Huot
PM｜Hsu Chien-Wen
Artistic Director｜Bonthoeun Houn
Artist｜Sopheap Houn、Ratanaksombath Mony、Sithong Hok、Rotha Bo、Chantha Sim
Formosa Circus Art (FOCA)
Founded in 2011, FOCA is named after the beautiful island of Taiwan. It combines traditional, local, and street culture with theater arts to create a diverse contemporary circus theater scene in Taiwan, bringing together various performance styles and developing a unique body language.
Phare, The Cambodian Circus
The performers graduated from Phare Ponleu Selpak. It is an organization that traces its roots back to the story of a 1986 refugee camp on the Thai-Cambodian border, where art therapy was applied to help the children who experienced the trauma of war. Today, the organization provides arts education and vocational training with the belief that the arts can bring about positive change and social impact. Phare’s use of circus and acrobatics to incorporate modern theatrical elements into local stories has earned the praise by CNN Travel as the Cirque du Soleil of Southeast Asia. Phare was awarded the Guinness World Records for the longest circus performance in the world in 2022.
