Union Black

Union Black was an international co-production with the goal of creating a high quality circus and hip hop show with a good representation of ethnic diversity for a wide audience.

Local and international circus and hip hop artists created a performance basing itself in a physical vocabulary from football, circus, hip hop and theater, and raising socio-political issues concerning racism and a multicultural Europe. The ambition was to reach an audience not too familiar with circus, and through an artistic intercultural crossover sow the seeds for new expressions within the circus.

Union Black was directed as a collaboration between a hip hop choreographer and a circus director, and mainly rehearsed at Subtopia. The premiere was held at Hangaren, Subtopia’s main stage, after which the show went on tour to the other partner countries. Five Swedish circus artists and dancers participated in the performance. Local youth in Botkyrka municipality were offered free workshops in circus and dance as part of the project.

The project received funding from the EU’s Creative Europe and the Swedish Cultural Council, and was carried out in collaboration between organizations in Sweden, the UK, France, and Ireland.

Two short interviews with one of the Swedish dancers and one of the circus artists who collaborated in the project: