Clowning Retreat: Present (of the) Moment

For the first time, a retreat on the art of clowning comes to Cyprus, organised by Yasemin Collective and Quantum Circus, led by Chilean artist Marco Antonio Cepeda Cortes.

A two-day educational event that welcomes the artistic community and anyone else to deepen their skills and the transformative potential of clown performance.

Artists, performers, movement artists and anyone curious to step out of their comfort zone through movement, play and presence are invited to take part. No prior experience is required, and since the retreat is conducted in English, it welcomes the island's different communities.

Using the many elements that make up clowning, participants will explore comedy, stage presence and non-verbal body language. The training will include physical techniques drawn from mime, breath and elements of nature, movement and conscious presence, awareness on and off stage, as well as the fundamental principles of comedy and clowning such as timing, simplicity and honesty, presence, interaction and connection with the audience.

The focus on the art of clowning is deliberate and important to the organisers. In ancient traditions, including those of Greece, Egypt and South America, clowning and related forms of comic and ritual performance were always closely linked to intellectual inquiry, self-exploration, and questioning or examining the society of their time.

Physicality, imagination and comedy open countless possibilities for expression, connection and discovery. This retreat invites us to consciously embody the body as a tool for exploration and self-knowledge, embracing the gifts of play, spontaneity, curiosity, vulnerability and the freedom to be truly present in the here and now.

Participants will see how in clowning mistakes become opportunities, limitations become sources of creativity, and how joy can be shared.