Femmes Du Feu Creations Presents CIRCUS SESSIONS At The Bank Art House, Welland

Returning again for its seventh year, Circus Sessions is ready to party.

Femmes de Feu Creations, in collaboration with Fez Faanana, director and co-founder of Briefs Factory, will combine circus, drag, dance, burlesque, music, and comedy over a week-long journey of exploration and experimentation that culminates the presentation of performance art that is edgy, irreverent, and not afraid to challenge convention.

Hailing from Australia, Faanana brings a unique blend of Pacific heritage, visual spectacle, and gender juggling that will ignite the spirit of punk for the nine artists in residence, and within the Niagara community as a whole. Faanana's own style of performance and mentorship aligns with what is at the core of FdFC: exploring the world of art and creativity with a global perspective; empowering underrepresented voices and celebrating diversity through the exploration of individual experience; expanding the definition of "art" within the local community; and - quite simply - letting loose, and having fun.

Artists Christopher Hartwig, Kelly Kreye, Lorenzo Serafino, Nicole Joy-Fraser, Sebastian "Bash" Hirenstein, Sianna Bruce, Sidonie Adamson, Tanya Burka, and Opal Jennifer Elchuk will bring back the joy and excitement of artistic expression with a playful and unconventional approach to this year's theme, Party Punk - as opportunity to, as Faanana explains it, participate in an antiestablishment moment that celebrates "system bucking, the poetry of protest, and artistic anarchy". Holly Treddenick, Artistic Director of FdFC, agrees.

"Circus Sessions is a rare opportunity to witness the creative process of some of the most talented artists in the world," Treddenick said. "It's an opportunity to see firsthand how they collaborate to push the boundaries of what's possible to create a one-of-kind event that represents the ultimate playground for innovative circus and a multidisciplinary artist. It's guaranteed to be an experience like no other!"

Since 2007, Femmes du Feu Creations have been actively creating and presenting aerial circus works, researching innovative ways to combine their contemporary dance and choreographic backgrounds with their aerial circus skills.

"Weirdly, as an artist, director and orchestrator the opportunity to be creative with a collective of circus/interdisciplinary artists is something that doesn't happen often enough. To do this as part of the 7th Femmes du Feu Creations Circus Sessions residency is such an exciting and decadent concept," said Faanana. "Circus is a creative safe house, it's the young renegade art form that interrogates and tests the limits of experience. It can be the meeting place for creativity to intersect, challenge and complement. Everyone will bring/be an exclusive and vital ingredient to the punk party."

Circus Sessions will run May 17-24, with a public presentation on May 24th, 2023 from 7:00 - 8:00pm (plus artist talkback) at The Bank Art House in Welland, Ontario.

Femmes du Feu Creations is a not-for-profit organization with three primary missions: performance creation, education, and sector development in circus and dance in rural and urban communities in Ontario, prioritizing the Niagara region.

Since 2007, Femmes du Feu have been actively creating and presenting aerial circus works, researching innovative ways to combine their contemporary dance and choreographic backgrounds with their aerial circus skills.

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