Led by Jean-Marie Akkerman, a fourth generation circus performer, Cirque Nova is a unique circus organisation working specifically with disabled people. “Finding Epiphany” explores the liberating power of circus by combining character work, aerial skills and acrobalance. Recently featured on Radio 4’s Midweek programme with Libby Purves, Cirque Nova is an exciting force within the UK’s disability arts sector and has been supported in presenting this performance by Emergency Exit Arts.

Finding Epiphany is to be performed on Saturday the 25th of June at 4.05pm and 6.35pm; King Charles Lawn, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, SE10; the event is FREE to attend and no pre-booking or tickets are required.

With our new found vision steering towards inclusion and the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, our first show with our 2009 group for service users, we created a show called Stellar

This show was directly inspired by the Cultural Olympiad and represents a journey done by a Star travelling around the planet following the path of the Olympic flame from China where it last showcased, to London, passing world cultures of the other 3 continents.

The rig is suspended from a building crane and lifts the aerialists to 90 feet off the floor, as to prepare them to take parts at cultural Olympiad events from the Olympic Stadium roof.
There are tableaux that represent world cultures, and a circus tableau based on rings, people juggling rings, people spinning in rings and dancing around in rings, as to lead towards the Olympic Logo hanging up in the air.

When the star arrives to London the theme of the British representation is Hip hop, with the whole group joining in acrobatics and b-boys joining in the play. The piece combines good quality aerial performance, juggling, stilt walking and acrobatics, combined with dance and a variety of sound tracks.

Apart from this creation, Cirque Nova’s artistic team can create shows to suit a diversity of budgets and themes, depending on the clients’ needs.

Cirque Nova got its name from a “Super-Nova”, which is the explosion of a star, that once exploded creates a multitude of other new stars with their own life. Based on that name we thought it would be the spirit of our company not to focus on the Super-Nova itself but on the people we will train to make of that multitude of stars in the own right from whatever back ground they may be. (disabled, homeless, ex-offenders, etc.). That is also the reason for which Cirque Nova under its new management since 2007 has decided to theme all the new projects till the Cultural Olympiad 2012 with astronomical and stellar themes.