WEDNESDAY 3 JUNE
7:30 PM – CirkoBalkana Tent
WORLD-CLASS, HOMEGROWN
KOMPLET LEPIÑA: “Guvno”
Klara Barišić, Maša Borović, Fenja Siebels
A work in progress by a newly formed company created by two Croatian circus migrant workers, Maša and Klara, together with their colleague Fenja Siebels. The inspiration for this piece comes from a rural guvno — a traditional threshing floor, both a place of labour and social gathering, whose circular shape irresistibly recalls circus arenas. Three characters, a touch of partner acrobatics, some acrodance, and plenty of playfulness are what the artists have discovered so far through their research.
About the collective
Komplet Lepiña was formed in the summer of 2025 while Fenja, Klara and Maša were peeling potatoes in the kitchen of a circus festival in Catalonia. Out of a genuine desire to create together, they decided to begin collaborating, and after five days spent at Suhač, the concept for the performance Guvno emerged.
Klara Barišić is a Croatian circus artist currently studying at CREAT in Valencia. She began her circus journey by chance in Zagreb in 2020 with aerial silks, and currently focuses on silks, hand balancing and lighting design. She was part of the circusnext project in 2023 with the performance Konstrukt. In addition, she is involved in two active productions: one as lighting designer/technician (Šupljine i praznine) and another as performer (Stative). She is one half of the company Quoz a’Durac.
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Maša Borović was born in 1995 in Sinj and currently lives in Madrid. She attended the School of Fine Arts in Split, specialising in sculpture. In 2020, she graduated from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zagreb, where she studied Sociology and Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology.
In 2025, she completed professional circus training at CARAMPA (Madrid, Spain), specialising in aerial hoop. Other circus disciplines she is interested in include acrodance, partner acrobatics, vertical rope and hand balancing. Her artistic focus lies in writing, new magic, absurdity and the richness of detail. Before moving to Madrid, she spent a year working on a circus pedagogy project at the amateur circus school Turbul’ in Nîmes, France.
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Fenja Siebels, 27, is a Berlin-based contemporary circus artist specialising in vertical rope and teeterboard. She graduated from the CARAMPA circus school in Madrid in 2025 and is currently involved in the CRECE project at Teatro Circo Price (Madrid), under the direction of Joel Martí. Her introduction to contemporary circus began in 2018 during a dual degree in Cultural Studies at the University of Regensburg (Germany) and Complutense University of Madrid. She is part of the ensemble Compañía Cirkater, with whom she co-created Augustine, a 50-minute performance combining physical theatre, clowning and acrodance.
MAJA WIENA BENIĆ: “Anecdote of an Anthophobic”
Duration: 10 minutes
This performance places the well-trodden path of routine into the unpredictable contrast of meticulous disorder. Behind a shifting mask stands a protagonist suffering from anthophobia — an irrational and intense fear of flowers. Tirelessly navigating a whirlwind of fragility and chaos, tea appears warm and the armchair inviting, until reality begins to play with perception.
Maja Wiena Benić (1998) entered the world of circus through fire props and staff manipulation, performing both solo and with the collective Navodnooslobodilački cirkus. She later expanded her artistic vocabulary through contemporary dance techniques and partner acrobatics. Since 2024, she has been attending the circus school CREAT – Formació i Creació en Arts del Circ in Valencia, focusing on acrodance as her main performance discipline. She is also a member of the contemporary circus group La družina.
ISKRA DILKIĆ: “Searching”
Duration: 4 minutes
Searching, searching, searching — finding paths and then searching again. For simplicity, perhaps. Or comfort. I often think about tenderness and how much it is missing. Tenderness is something I am willing to fight for — with myself and with the world.
Iskra Dilkić develops her practice at the intersection of contemporary circus, theatre and music, continuously exploring the relationship between body, movement and performance. As an active member of the collective Cirkusfera, she has participated in numerous workshops, performances and festivals across the region, building experience through collaborative work and international partnerships.
She is currently working as a European volunteer at École de Cirque Turbul’, where she both leads and attends workshops in various circus disciplines. Her artistic development is further enriched through Erasmus+ projects dedicated to contemporary circus, participatory theatre and site-specific performance. Alongside this, she is also studying music, with a focus on the harpsichord and early music, which further shapes her performative language. Her theatrical experience includes acting, performance and theatre criticism, collaborating with various institutions and independent scenes. Her work is characterised by constant exploration, the merging of artistic forms and an interest in collective creation.
MIA BRADIĆ: “Refuge”
Duration: 10 minutes
One definition of the word refuge that particularly resonates with me is: refuge — a rest from suffering. Refuge is not necessarily a place, although it can be, but rather a feeling connecting two states inseparable from human existence, yet present today in extreme disproportion.
Refuge is a short circus solo on aerial hoop that focuses on the longing for a space in which we are able to be ourselves. Through the intertwined contrast between the outer and inner worlds, the author questions whether escaping reality and living the world we wish to create are necessarily two separate acts, opening a space for existence alongside one’s own contradictions.
Mia Bradić is a twenty-three-year-old circus artist from Split. She discovered circus skills in 2010 through the association Cirkus Kolektiv, where she created her first original works and began teaching aerial disciplines. Since 2018, she has also practised contortion with the association Room100.
After graduating from the Third Gymnasium in Split, she spent a year at the circus school Turbul’ in Nîmes, France, specialising in circus pedagogy. She continued her artistic development through informal education and authorial work in France, Catalonia and Croatia, while simultaneously completing a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Sciences Po. In 2025, she enrolled in a professional circus school in Bordeaux, where she is currently specialising in aerial hoop.
NOAH CVIJANOVIĆ: “Clay”
Duration: 10 minutes
The performance is inspired by the life of Muhammad Ali and explores the experience of a man who spent his entire life in constant struggle — within the boxing ring, in relation to society, and in confrontation with himself. Through movement, juggling and elements of physical theatre, the piece seeks to portray his triumphs and failures, extraordinary strength, and moments of vulnerability.
The work does not focus solely on the figure of the famous boxer, but reflects on universal questions of identity, resilience and humanity. Despite illness and immense social pressure, Muhammad Ali remained an enduring symbol of struggle, dignity and personal integrity.
Noah Cvijanović is currently studying at the circus school CREAT in Valencia. Surrounded by art from an early age, he views the performing arts as a space for continuous personal and artistic growth. He began his performance career at Gradsko kazalište Pula, where he trained in contemporary dance, physical theatre and acting.
Today, he actively works in contemporary circus, with a particular focus on juggling as a discipline that combines technical precision with stage expression. For him, the stage quickly became a space for exploring identities, emotions and modes of communication with audiences, as well as a place through which he continues to develop his own artistic language.
