Multimedia Circus Comes to Town
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The circus is changing. Originating from ancient Rome, the circus was an open-air stadium, featuring acrobats, clowns, trained animals and other acts.
Since then, the circus has served as one of the major entertainment shows during the 19th century.
But the rapid development of multimedia, such as television, radio and films in the 20th century, estranged people from the circus because of its seemingly unnatural and overacted performances.
The circus, however, began shedding its old image from the 1960s-70s by adopting more theatrical and artistic elements, as seen in ``Quidam,'' an ongoing sold-out circus performance produced by Cirque du Soleil, instead of the use of animals.
Now, spectators are invited to watch another type of young circus dubbed ``Multimedia New Circus,'' matching the era of information and technology.
``The 7 Fingers,'' a Canada-based circus troupe, is coming to Seoul to perform ``Traces'' for the first time in Asia. The show will be held in the Theater Yong at the National Museum of Korea from May 25-27.
May 9, 2007