The Letná orchards in August without acrobats? Unimaginable! Letní Letná has become a traditional festival of new circus. Despite the pandemic, it will take place this year, too, albeit under strict hygiene measures. Over the course of eight days, the festival will offer the world premiere of the French ensemble Galapiat Cirque, a unique joint performance by two leading domestic ensembles, Cirk La Putyka and Losers Cirque Company, the premiere of the documentary Provazochodkyně nad Prahou (A Tightrope Walker over the Vltava) as well as an accompanying program.
"We are making final preparations, but what we're most focusing on now is the maximum safety of visitors. We're cooperating with the Prague hygiene station and following the recommendations of experts. Based on a government decision, we have reduced the capacity of the tent to 500 people, and it will also be mandatory for the visitors to cover their nose and mouth with a face mask. The capacity of the outdoor scene in the fresh air hasn't changed and there will be enough space to maintain a safe distance between the groups. Visitors will be able to buy a face mask and use disinfectant for free,"
says Jiří Turek, director of the Letní Letná festival.
Open in gallery (2)
Loni zahajovala festival provazochodkyně, která bez jištění přešla Vltavu. Source: archiv Letní Letná/František Ortmann
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The magnificent opening of the festival will be provided by the Spanish ensemble Voalá with an exceptional number, twice in a row. Set in the backdrop of the sky, the inscenation Voalá Station creates eye-catching visual images through aerial acrobatics, flooding the spectator with the most elevating emotions. The show includes live music and singing.
Comeback after eight years
After eight years, the French ensemble Galapiat Cirque is also returning to Letná. And they're bringing a new number to Prague - we'll be the first to see L'âne et la carrote, i.e. Donkey and Carrot.
"Using a series of numbers, a man tells his story of a circus artist. Thanks to his faithful helper, he realizes that if one wants to change the world, one must start with oneself,"
the director of the festival, Jiří Turek, describes the upcoming performance, the preview of which he saw in France before the outbreak of the pandemic. Of course, the program of the Letná festival will also include the best of the Czech new circus scene. For example, the award-winning Losers Cirque Company will present a special edition of their first performance, The Loser(s), which served as a basis for all the following productions. Accompanied by the beatbox of the musician EnDru, the audience will embark on a new circus journey full of acrobatic tricks, rhythms and the characteristic humor of the ensemble.
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Cirk La Putyka nebude chybět na Letné ani letos. Source: archiv Letní Letná/Jiří Šeda
La Putyka Circus promises a circus expedition of pure joy. The renowned ensemble put the inscenation called Kaleidoscope together during the coronavirus pandemic. The result is a kaleidoscope, in which crazy jumps on a giant teeterboard, group dance choreography, trapéze acrobatics and flights on a trampoline alternate like colorful shards of glass.
The Letní Letná Light will take place from 18 to 25 August in Prague's Letenské sady and tickets for individual performances are already available on the festival's website.
